Transvaginal phase of laparoscopic radical hysterectomy

Abstract

When laparoscopic surgery was introduced for the treatment of women with early cervical cancer by Dargent and Querleu, this technique always included a vaginal phase. Transvaginal transsection and closure of the vaginal cuff seal off tumor cells as initially described by Schauta. Alternatively, in radical abdominal surgery Wertheim and his followers use a rectangular clamp for intracorporeal colpotomy to avoid tumor cell contamination of the peritoneal cavity (1).