title: The role of mini laparotomy in patients with uterine myomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of myomectomy by mini laparotomy in patients with subserosal and/or intramural uterine myomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between January 2002 and December 2008, 83 women with symptomatic uterine myomas were referred to the Second Department of Gynecology of St. Savvas Anticancer--Oncologic Hospital of Athens. The study included women with subserosal and/or intramural uterine myomas with a maximum diameter of ten cm. All patients underwent myomectomy by mini laparotomy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median age of the patients was 36.8 years (range 19-43). The median number of the removed uterine myomas was 3.1 (range 1-12) and the median operative time was 98 minutes (range 47-170). All patients were mobilized within the first 24 hours and the median time of postoperative ileus was 1.6 days (range 1-3). The median hospital stay was 44 hours (range 30-120). There were no serious intraoperative or early postoperative complications. Conversion to laparotomy was performed only in four cases (4.82%), but none of the patients underwent emergency hysterectomy. During a mean follow up of 38 months, no recurrences of uterine myomas in the study population were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mini laparotomic myomectomy is a safe and effective minimally invasive method alternative to laparoscopic myomectomy for patients with subserosal and/or intramural uterine myomas.
authors.affiliation: 2nd Department of Gynecology, St. Savvas Anticancer-Oncologic Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zygouris
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Androutsopoulos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grigoriadis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Terzakis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy; D007889:Leiomyoma / Q000601:surgery*; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D063186:Uterine Myomectomy; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult