A Quick History of Vaginal Hysterectomy

Your doctor may have recommended you have a very common surgery known as a "vaginal hysterectomy." As you're compiling your list of questions about that surgery, it would be good to know how long doctors have used it as a medical intervention. Vaginal hysterectomy, or the removal of a woman's uterus through an incision in the vagina, may seem like a modern procedure, but the truth is that it's been done in some fashion for hundreds of years. Here's a quick timeline of the medical history of vaginal hysterectomy.

As early as the mid-15th century, medical journals give detailed accounts of doctors doing vaginal hysterectomies. Even earlier than that, however, a doctor by the name Soranus of Ephesus wrote of one such procedure in the second century! These primitive surgeries were done primarily for treatment of gangrene, and there isn't much said again about them until the late 1700s.

A lot has been written about the vaginal hysterectomies being done during the 1800s, especially by a Dr. K.M. Langenbeck, whose work wasn't generally well received. Later efforts by others to improve on his methods resulted in widespread interest in the procedure later in that century. These surgeries were done for a number of reasons, most notably cervical cancer.

As with other gynecological procedures such as tubal ligation and D&C, advancements in surgical equipment, anesthesia and antiseptic techniques significantly lowered the risks involved.

In the late 1870s, another form of hysterectomy began to be explored, in which removal of the uterus was accomplished through an incision of the abdomen. By the beginning of the next century, several forms of this procedure, involving removal of not only the uterus but also the ovaries and/or the cervix, began to be used but vaginal hysterectomy was still preferred by most physicians.

From the 1950s to the 1980s, the use of laparoscopy, or inserting a scope through small incisions to assist in removal of organs through those incisions became highly developed. In 1989, these advancements brought about the first laparoscopic-assisted vaginal hysterectomy.

Hysterectomy is used today to relieve a wide variety of conditions including fibroids, several forms of cancer, and prolapsed uterus, and is still the second most common of all surgeries. Surgeons continue to improve the outcomes and safety of vaginal hysterectomy.

As you discuss your upcoming vaginal hysterectomy with your physician, don't be afraid to ask questions. Because the procedure has a long history of success, they'll be able to draw on a wealth of research to give you the answers you need.