Operations
All gynaecologists of our team at the Sint-Vincentius hospital ZAS have a fixed surgery day, on which gynaecological procedures are performed.
If a particular procedure is necessary for you, we will inform you in detail.
Some common procedures are discussed below:
Conisation, LLETZ or LEEP
Most abnormal smears will improve by themselves (thanks to their own immunity) and do not require treatment. In certain cases, we will suggest treatment, which will be a conisation or loop excision.
A thin, electrically heated, metal loop is then used to remove a small piece of abnormal tissue from the cervix.
This can usually be performed on an outpatient basis under local anaesthetic in the operating theatre. The whole procedure takes about 10 minutes at most.
Curettage
A curettage is a minor gynaecological procedure that serves to diagnose certain symptoms or remove miscarriage tissue from the uterus. It is a frequently performed procedure.
We may recommend curettage in the following cases: abnormal menstruation or abnormal blood loss, miscarriage in the first three months of pregnancy, retained tissue in the uterus after childbirth, blood loss after menopause,...
This procedure is usually done under anaesthesia and in the day clinic. You can go home the same day.
Hysteroscopy
Hysteroscopy literally means ‘looking inside the uterus’. It is an examination in which the gynaecologist looks at the inside of the uterus. We do this with a very fine camera (hysteroscope).
With a diagnostic hysteroscopy, we can find out why you have certain symptoms. The examination is carried out in cases such as: bleeding between periods, unfulfilled pregnancy wish, ultrasound suspicion of fibroids or polyps, bleeding after menopause, etc.
Minor interventions, such as removing a polyp, a myoma, or an IUD, may also be performed during the examination.
Hysteroscopy can be done without anaesthesia, with only local anaesthesia or under general anaesthesia in certain cases.
Laparoscopy or keyhole surgery
Laparoscopy involves looking into the abdomen with a scope (camera). To do this, we usually make several small openings in the abdomen: one in the navel and 2 or 3 in the lower abdomen. Through these openings, we place fine shafts in the abdominal wall to insert our camera and working instruments into the abdominal cavity.
The gynaecologist may perform a laparoscopy for various reasons: a cyst on the ovary, removal of a fibroid on the uterus, an ectopic pregnancy, diagnosis and removal of endometriosis, removal of the uterus,...
A laparoscopy is always done under anaesthesia and, depending on the indication, in day clinic or with several days of admission.
Hysterectomy
The Greek word ‘hyster’ means uterus and ‘ectomy’ stands for ‘excision’. So a hysterectomy is an operation in which the uterus is removed. Sometimes the fallopian tubes and ovaries are also removed. This depends on the reason for the operation, the findings during the procedure and your age.
The gynaecologist can remove the uterus using various surgical methods:
- Through the abdomen (abdominal hysterectomy): An incision is made in the abdomen.
- Through the vagina (vaginal hysterectomy): The uterus is removed through the vagina.
- Vnotes is the removal of the uterus through the vagina via keyhole surgery
- A combination (laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy): A keyhole surgery is combined with vaginal removal.
- Complete with keyhole surgery (total laparoscopic hysterectomy): The uterus is removed through small incisions with keyhole surgery.
- Partial removal of the uterus (subtotal laparoscopic hysterectomy): Only the upper part of the uterus is removed; the cervix remains.
A hysterectomy is always done under anaesthesia and, depending on the indication, with several days of hospitalisation.
Benign lesion of the breast
Benign lesions in the breast can be removed under local or general anaesthesia.
