Publications

Spring / Summer 2004

A REVOLUTIONARY, LESS INVASIVE OPTION FOR
HYSTERECTOMY OFFERED AT SAINT BARNABAS

Saint Barnabas Medical Center is one of the first hospitals in the state to offer a revolutionary laparoscopic procedure for hysterectomy. The procedure, called laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH), drastically reduces length of hospital stay and postoperative pain and recovery.

The president of the medical staff at Saint Barnabas Medical Center is one of an elite group of physicians in New Jersey to perform this procedure. Anthony C. Quartell, M.D., an attending obstetrician/gynecologist, has trained for years to perfect the new procedure. He is one of only 960 physicians in the country to be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Gynecologic Endoscopy (ACGE) in advanced gynecologic endoscopy. He has been chosen as a “best physician for advanced gynecologic laparoscopy” by New York Magazine, New Jersey Monthly and New Jersey Life.

“I want to be able to provide as many patients as possible with access to this procedure,” says Dr. Quartell. “The major difference is found in patient comfort postoperatively. It greatly reduces pain and trauma to the body, and minimizes recovery time. Patients are amazed to be back on their feet so quickly.”

LSH, which requires a hospital stay of 24 hours or less with a six-day recovery period, also has less pain and scarring than the traditional surgery, which requires a 2-5 day hospital stay and up to a six-week recovery period. In the latest LSH procedure, only the uterus, with or without the tubes and ovaries, is removed, as opposed to the removal of the entire uterus and cervix in the “open” traditional procedure.

Hysterectomy, or the surgical removal of the uterus, is performed 600,000 times each year. Forty percent of the time it is done as a treatment for fibroid tumors.

The new LSH procedure has benefits that surpass another laparoscopic technique for hysterectomy called laparoscopically-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) that is currently in use and requires a 1-3 day hospital stay and a four-week recovery period.

Unlike the LAVH, which requires the uterus to be removed through the vagina, the LSH procedure uses an instrument to cut the uterus into sections, allowing it to be removed through the tiny laparoscopic incisions.

Laparoscopic Supracervival Hysterectomy
LSH uses a laparoscope (a thin, lighted telescope) and small surgical instruments inserted through three tiny incisions to remove only the top portion of the uterus, leaving the cervix intact. Fibroids are usually found in this top portion. After the surgeon carefully separates the uterus from the cervix, an innovative surgical instrument, called a “tissue morcellator,” makes it possible to cut up large sections of the uterus so that they can be removed through the tiny incisions. The procedure can be performed under general or regional anesthesia.

The benefits of keeping the cervix intact include the preservation of pelvic support, the female’s sexual response, lower incidence of vaginal prolapse, urinary incontinence and bowel dysfunction. Because the cervix is left intact, women should continue to have an annual Pap smear to screen for cervical cancer.

LSH is a good choice for women who:

• have finished childbearing
• have fibroids that are affecting their lifestyle
• want a quicker return to their lives and jobs
  

LSH is NOT a good choice for women who:

• have a prolapsed uterus
• have endometriosis
• engage in high-risk sexual behavior and may benefit from removal of the cervix to prevent cancer
• have very large, very numerous or calcified fibroids

One Patient’s Story
Christine Diaz of Jefferson was experiencing problems with heavy bleeding caused by fibroids. Although she had one removed, others grew. By the time she came to Dr. Quartell’s office, Mrs. Diaz had become anemic from profuse hemorrhaging. She and Dr. Quartell chose the new LSH procedure because she had completed her family, did not plan to have more children, and because she had a history of fibroids. On January 7, she had a LSH. By Monday she had resumed her work activities. “When I came out of the surgery I could have danced,” she says.

“I felt like a brand new woman. I did not even need any pain medication. My stomach feels like I never had surgery. I can’t believe how bad I felt before and how great I feel now.”

Mrs. Diaz adds that she is very pleased to have recovered so quickly, as
compared to her friend who had the traditional surgery and was “out of
commission for two months.”

For more information, please call the Saint Barnabas Physician Referral Service at 1-888-SBHS-123.

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