Recent studies indicate that laparoscopic radical hysterectomy may significantly increase the chances of cervical cancer recurrence. Women who undergo a laparoscopic radical hysterectomy to treat this disease may actually be putting themselves at risk for the cervical cancer to return stronger than before.

Throughout the years, laparoscopic radical hysterectomy has been a popular treatment option for women with cervical cancer due to its minimally invasive nature and shorter recovery time.

Laparoscopic radical hysterectomy is a surgical procedure meant to remove the uterus and other reproductive organs in female patients, often as a treatment for cervical cancer. In contrast to abdominal hysterectomy, this procedure is minimally invasive and is done through a small incision in the abdomen.

Sometimes this is done with robotic medical tools like the da Vinci device, with laparoscopic radical hysterectomy having a lower risk of infection and fast recovery time for patients.

Even though laparoscopic radical hysterectomy procedures have an 80 percent cure rate, the results of these recent studies have drastically changed the perception of this treatment procedure in the medical community.

Overview of Laparoscopic Radical Hysterectomy Results

The results of these studies have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which has already been shared in the oncologist community. The first study consisted of 631 women and 33 hospitals in the United States, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Italy, China, Australia, and Mexico.

Each of these women had either state 1A or 1B cancer and either underwent laparoscopic radical hysterectomy or open surgery. Out of the 319 patients who underwent minimally invasive hysterectomy, 15.6 percent of the patients had robot-assisted surgery and 84.4 percent of patients underwent traditional laparoscopy.

Researchers had initially planned on including an additional 109 patients to the trial but had stopped the study early due to the data indicating that laparoscopic radical hysterectomy patients had a higher rate of cervical cancer recurrence, along with worse overall survival.

The trial was designed to compare survival rates between patients who underwent different treatments. The first study ultimately found that the rate of disease-free survival at four and a half years was 86 percent with minimally invasive surgery and 96.5 percent with open surgery. The three year rate of overall survival with patients was 93.8 percent with minimally invasive surgery and 99 percent with open surgery.

The second study consisted of data from two significant cancer databases, which compared survival rates of women who were diagnosed with early-stage cervical cancer and underwent either laparoscopic radical hysterectomy or traditional hysterectomy between 2010 and 2013.

A 45-month median follow up indicated that a four-year mortality rate was seen in 9.1 percent of women who had minimally invasive surgery compared to the 5.3 percent of women who opted for a traditional hysterectomy. It is important to note that before laparoscopic radical hysterectomy was adopted into practice, a four-year survival rate was consistent in the patient population.

This study indicated that laparoscopic radical hysterectomy had started a decline in four-year survival rates by 0.8 percent per year starting after 2006.

The results of these studies have already been shared throughout the medical community, with some physicians ceasing laparoscopic radical hysterectomy procedures altogether.

Join a Free Cervical Cancer after Hysterectomy Lawsuit Investigation

If your cervical cancer progressed after laparoscopic radical hysterectomy, or if your loved one died after such surgery, you may have a legal claim. See if you qualify to file a cervical cancer after hysterectomy lawsuit by filling out the form on this page now.

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