American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists

This study aimed to compare operative times and short-term outcomes between robotic and laparoscopic sacral colpopexy. A retrospective cohort study using a convenience sample was performed comparing patients who underwent robotic and laparoscopic sacral colpopexy during a 4-year period. Operative time, blood loss, perioperative complications, and objective cure of prolapse at 3 months were compared. Robotic procedures in 65 women and laparoscopic sacral colpopexy procedures in 23 women were performed. Median preoperative prolapse was stage 3 for both groups. There was no statistically significant difference in the median operative time between the robotic and laparoscopic groups, although this did not include robot setup time and did include concurrent procedures that differed significantly between groups (334 vs 325 minutes, P = 0.30). Estimated blood loss was lower in the robotic group (50 vs 100 mL, P = 0.003). Median hospital stay was 1 day in both groups (P = 0.23). There were no differences in overall objective cure rates between robotic and laparoscopic groups at 3 months of follow-up (87.1% vs 91.3%, P = 0.72). Perioperative complications, including visceral injury and mesh erosion, did not differ significantly between these groups. Robotic and laparoscopic sacral colpopexy had similar operative times, short-term anatomic cure rates, perioperative complications, and length of hospital stay.

: The purpose of this study was to explore resident opinions about vaginal hysterectomy training and to evaluate future practice patterns and impediments to continuing vaginal hysterectomies after graduation. : An anonymous survey was e-mailed to fourth-year gynecology residents before graduation. The survey assessed opinions on vaginal hysterectomy training and future practice plans. : One hundred eighty-three residents responded from 41 states. Most residents (75%) think vaginal hysterectomy training has been adequate to prepare them for future practice. Residents were more likely to respond that their training was adequate if they had performed more than 20 vaginal hysterectomies and if they had learned morcellation techniques. Only 42% of residents report vaginal route as their preferred route for hysterectomy. : Most residents feel that training in vaginal hysterectomy has been adequate to prepare them for their future practice, although they are more likely to feel prepared if they have performed more than 20 vaginal hysterectomies.

An accessory ovary is a rare congenital anomaly of the female reproductive tract. This report illustrates a case of a cyst arising from an accessory ovary complicated by torsion. A 39-year-old nulliparous woman presented with lower abdominal pain and was found on physical examination to have an 8-cm mass anterior to the uterus. Ultrasonography of the pelvis showed a 9.3×6.7 cm cystic lesion with a solid component anterior to the uterus suggestive of a left ovarian cyst. Laparoscopy was performed for presumed ovarian torsion. Torsion of a tumor arising from an accessory ovary was found intraoperatively. Patients suspected to have ovarian torsion should have emergency surgery for diagnosis and attempted ovarian preservation. Physicians should consider complications of paraovarian anomalies in the differential diagnosis.

Die Fluoreszenzmarkierung von Proteinen in lebenden Zellen ist essenziell für zellbiologische Untersuchungen. Eine auf der Wechselwirkung zwischen der Dihydrofolat-Reduktase (DHFR) und Methotrexat (Mtx) beruhende Methode eignet sich generell zur Proteinmarkierung mit Fluoreszenzfarbstoffen oder kleinen funktionellen Molekülen in vivo (siehe Bild).

The 1991 membership survey of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists indicated more laparoscopic procedures than had been reported in the last survey, in 1988. The respondents reported 30,480 sterilizations, 41,160 diagnostic laparoscopies and 8,015 hysteroscopies. The distribution of sterilization by method of tubal occlusion has remained stable since 1985. Complications from diagnostic laparoscopy remain consistently higher than from sterilization. This year the complication rate for diagnostic procedures was higher than in any other year since 1976 (4.9 per 1,000 cases). One death was reported after sterilization and one after diagnostic laparoscopy.