gynaesurgery_complications
Table of Contents
potential complications of gynaecologic surgery
see also:
Introduction
- depending upon the type of procedure, potential local complications of surgery include:
- UTI
- urinary retention
- uterine issues
- vault haematoma post-hysterectomy
- uterine perforation
- retained products of conception / endometritis
- cervical incompetence
- cervicitis
- bladder trauma including formation of vesicovaginal fistulae
- ureter issues including injury or suturing
- urethral issues
Urologic complications
- see also:
- urinary tract infection following catheterisation
- urinary retention
- urinary tract injuries occur in 0.3% to 0.8% of all gynecologic procedures, and injuries to the bladder occur in 0.05% to 0.66% of such surgeries.
- injury to the bladder, particularly a mechanical injury, is more common than injury to the ureter
- most bladder injuries are recognized during surgery
- cystoscopy detects nearly all unrecognized bladder and ureteral injuries
- bladder injuries can be characterized as intra- or extraperitoneal and may include sharp instrument trauma, perforation, placement of suture into the bladder:
- Grade 1: contusion, intramural hematoma, or partial thickness laceration
- Grade 2: extraperitoneal bladder wall laceration <2 cm
- Grade 3: extraperitoneal >2 cm or intraperitoneal <2 cm bladder wall laceration
- Grade 4: intraperitoneal bladder wall laceration >2 cm
- Grade 5: intra- or extraperitoneal bladder wall laceration involving the trigone or bladder neck
- extraperitoneal injuries can be further classified:
- open pelvic fracture with exposed bone within the bladder lumen
- concurrent rectal or vaginal injury to prevent subsequent fistula formation to the bladder
- bladder neck injury
- persistent haematuria as a consequence of the bladder injury, with clots interfering with adequate bladder drainage
- grade 1 and 2 injuries are generally managed with 7-14 days (although some need 21 days to heal) IDC
- risk of bladder injury increases in hysterectomy procedures
- 1.0% to 1.8% in laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomies and vaginal hysterectomies
- injury to the bladder can occur at several points in gynecologic or obstetric surgery:
- during lysis of adhesions
- bladder dissection in all routes of hysterectomy
- entry into the anterior cul-de-sac in a vaginal hysterectomy
- when using a suprapubic incision for trocar placement or tissue extraction
- urethral sling placement is a particularly high-risk procedure for bladder injury, which complicates between 3% and 9% of procedures and also risks urethral perforation on 0.4-1%
- caesarean deliveries, esp. vertical midline subumbilical incisions
- thermal spread from electrosurgical energy can lead to delayed injury
Long term complications from hysterectomy and/or bilateral salpingectomy
- earlier menopause and perhaps more severe reduction in hormonal levels
- hysterectomy may result in lower ovarian sex steroid levels, resulting in earlier menopause
- oophorectomy can reduce premenopausal serum oestradiol by up to 80% and androgen levels by about 50% in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women
- increased osteoporosis risk
- increased stroke risk
- women of reproductive age have a lower stroke risk, whereas postmenopausal women are roughly two times more likely to have a stroke within a decade of menopause
- a 2025 study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) included more than 21,000 women showed:1)
- 18% higher risk of stroke for hysterectomy with bilateral oophorectomy
- 5% higher risk of stroke for hysterectomy alone
1)
Shao, C., et al. (2025) Stroke risk in women with or without hysterectomy and/or bilateral oophorectomy: evidence from the NHANES 1999-2018 and meta-analysis. Menopause
gynaesurgery_complications.txt · Last modified: 2025/09/03 10:30 by gary1