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Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the intraoperative and short-term postoperative complications of laparoscopic hysterectomy and total abdominal hysterectomy. Study design: Retrospective study of 167 women who had laparoscopic hysterectomy and 119 women who had total abdominal hysterectomy. For assessing the learning curve, the laparoscopic hysterectomies were further subdivided to the first 30 hysterectomies and the later hysterectomies. For data analysis Student''s t-test, χ 2-test and Fisher''s exact test were used. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups for age, body mass index, previous abdominal surgery, uterine weight, first postoperative day hemoglobin drop, blood transfusion and major or minor complications rate. Operation time was significantly longer for laparoscopic than abdominal hysterectomy (156±40 and 91.2±33min, respectively; P <0.001) but the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter (3.9 and 6.55 days, respectively; P <0.001). The conversion rate of laparoscopic hysterectomy was 1.8% (three cases). Conclusions: Laparoscopic hysterectomy can be safely done even during the learning curve with a low and reasonable complication rate, and a shorter hospital stay but with longer operation time. As experience is gained the operation time, complication rate and hospital stay are decreased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To determine the pre-malignant and malignant potential of endometrial polyps and to assess whether different clinical parameters are associated with malignancy in the polyps. Study design: Four hundred and thirty consecutive cases of hysteroscopic diagnosis of endometrial polyp were retrieved. The medical records, preoperative vaginal sonography results and histopathology findings were reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: Hysteroscopy truly identified endometrial polyps in 95.7% of the cases. In 11.4% cases, hyperplasia without atypia was found in the endometrial polyp. In 3.3 and 3.0% of women pre-malignant or malignant conditions were found in the polyp. Older age, menopause status and polyps larger than 1.5 cm were associated with significant pre-malignant or malignant changes, although the positive predictive value for malignancy was low. All the malignant polyps were diagnosed only in postmenopausal women. The presence of postmenopausal or irregular vaginal bleeding, was not a predictor of malignancy in the polyp. Conclusions: Postmenopausal women with endometrial polyps are at increased risk of malignancy in the polyp. Those patients, whether symptomatic or not should be evaluated by hysteroscopic resection of the polyps. Asymptomatic premenopausal patients with polyps smaller than 1.5 cm can be observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: To examine the effect of uterosacral–cardinal ligament complex stretching prior to vaginal hysterectomy on uterine descent. Study design: A prospective trial of 25 consecutive women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy. Pre-operative, apical, anterior and posterior wall POP-Q measurements were recorded for each patient before and after uterosacral–cardinal ligament complex stretching during general anesthesia. Results: Uterosacral–cardinal ligament complex stretching yielded a significant increase in mean stage of uterine and anterior wall descent (2.6±0.6 vs. 3.2±0.6cm, p <0.001, and 2.5±0.8 vs. 2.9±0.8cm, respectively, p <0.004). There was no significant change in posterior wall prolapse measurements (1.3±0.7 vs. 1.4±0.8cm, p =0.05). Conclusion: Uterosacral–cardinal ligament complex stretching prior to vaginal hysterectomy increase uterine descent. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 3 months of vaginal mifepristone treatment on leiomyoma volume and related symptoms. Design: Prospective, open-label, two tertiary centers, phase II clinical trial. Setting: Two tertiary medical centers in Israel. Patient(s): Thirty-three enrolled women, ages 30–53 years, diagnosed with symptomatic uterine fibroids. Intervention(s): Patients received 10 mg mifepristone vaginally daily for 3 months. Main Outcome Measure(s): Reduction in uterine leiomyoma volume. Improvement in symptoms related to uterine fibroids was assessed with the use of the “Uterine Fibroid Symptoms Quality of Life Questionnaire” (UFS-QoL). The number of bleeding days, safety, and tolerability were secondary measures. Result(s): Mifepristone treatment significantly reduced leiomyoma volume from 135.3 ± 22.9 cc at enrollment to 101.2 ± 22.4 cc after 3 months of treatment. The UFS-QoL Score significantly decreased from 20.7 ± 0.7 at enrollment to 14.0 ± 0.8 after 3 months of treatment. The number of bleeding days significantly decreased by 3.5 days. Endometrial biopsies showed no evidence of endometrial hyperplasia or cellular atypia. There were no major side effects during the course of the study, and treatment was well tolerated. Conclusion(s): Vaginal mifepristone may offer an effective treatment option for women with symptomatic uterine leiomyoma and can improve the patients' quality of life. Clinical Trial Registration Number: NCT00881140 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate potential risk factors at admission for failed single-dose methotrexate injection in women with ectopic pregnancy. Methods: File review of a tertiary medical center in Israel yielded 102 consecutive patients with ectopic pregnancy initially treated with single-dose methotrexate. Overall successful treatment was defined as normalization of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels after the first or second injection. Results: The mean pretreatment hCG level for the whole cohort was 2350±2955mIU/mL (median, 1187mIU/mL; 90th percentile, 5000mIU/mL). Resolution of ectopic pregnancy was achieved after a single injection in 76/102 (74.5%) women and after a second dose in 16/21 (76.2%) women. The remaining 10 (9.8%) patients were treated surgically after the first (5/76) or the second (5/26) dose. The overall success rate for methotrexate treatment was 90.2%. On multivariate stepwise logistic analysis, fetal cardiac activity was an independent predictor of a failed first methotrexate injection, and presence of a yolk sac and mass size were independent predictors of overall methotrexate failure and need for secondary surgery. Conclusion: In patients with ectopic pregnancy and relatively low levels of serum hCG, the most important predictors of overall failure of methotrexate injection were the presence of a yolk sac and mass size. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]