Risk of complications and uterine malignancies in women undergoing hysterectomy for presumed benign leiomyomas

Objectives: To determine the incidences of complications and uterine malignancies among women undergoing hysterectomies for presumed benign leiomyomas. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 923 women who underwent total hysterectomies between January 1983 and December 1997 at our hospital due to presumed benign leiomyomas. Results: The mean age (SD) of the patients was 44.5 +/- 5.2 years, 105 +/- 35 minutes was required for the procedure, and 405 +/- 312 mi of blood was lost during the procedure. Forty-one (4.4%) women demonstrated complications of intraoperative hemorrhages and required transfused blood. Urinary tract and bowel injuries occurred in 10 (1.1%) and 2 (0.2%) women, respectively. One woman (0.1%) died from pulmonary embolism that occurred on postoperative day 1. One woman (0.1%) required relaparotomy to control intraabdominal hemorrhage, Uterine malignancies were discovered postoperatively in 4 (0.4%) women, including 2 endometrial carcinoma, 1 leiomyosarcoma, and 1 endometrial stromal sarcoma. Conclusions: The incidences of complications and unrecognized uterine malignancies were similar to the results of previous studies, Of patients undergoing hysterectomy for presumed benign leiomyomas, the risk of major complications was 6.0% (55/923) and the risk of preoperatively undiagnosed uterine malignancies was 0.4%.