With Laparoscopy and Modern Medicine, Hysterectomy Surgery Continues to Evolve

There have been significant improvements in hysterectomy surgery since the first documented one was performed by Charles Clay in 1843.  He was a surgeon based in the England and, after diagnosing the patient incorrectly, the surgery was unsuccessful in curing the woman's condition.  The surgery's failure was primarily due to the invasiveness of the procedure.

The first time an abdominal hysterectomy was successfully completed was in 1853 by a surgeon based in Massachusetts.  This was quite a feat for the time, but, again, the patient was diagnosed incorrectly.  It seemed surgeons were starting to catch on to how to complete a successful hysterectomy, but were doing it under the wrong circumstances.  Plus, even when they were done under the right circumstances, women would have to suffer through a painful post-op and be left with a large scar.

Thankfully, today, OBGYN surgeons have the technology and skills to successfully diagnose and treat women in need of a hysterectomy.  Laparoscopic hysterectomy surgery allows for minimally invasive surgical practices, short hospital visits, quick recovery times and minimal scarring.

Fast forward over 100 years from the 1800s to 1988 to just south of Massachusetts in Kingston, Pennsylvania.  This is where Harry Reich performed and successfully completed the first laparoscopic hysterectomy.  From that point forward, the surgery started to evolve.  Now, nearly 100% of laparoscopic hysterectomies performed by qualified doctors are successful in the U.S.  Over the years, the once-common problems with the minimally invasive surgery have been targeted and fixed.

Even though the majority of laparoscopic hysterectomies are successful today, sometimes there are minor complications.  However, as medicine evolves, these complications lessen.  Developments in pharmacology and interventional radiology are all being used and improved to increase patient comfort and reduce complications.