Mr Lower was amongst the first gynaecologists to perform this operation in the United Kingdom. He has completed more than 400 procedures and encouraged a number of other gynaecologists to tackle this most demanding of laparoscopic procedures. Fibroids of up to 18 cm in diameter are removed from the uterus using high frequency electric current to incise the uterus and strip the fibroid away from the normal tissue. The defect is then repaired using sutures and the fibroid is removed from the uterine cavity using a morcellator to remove the fragments of the fibroid through a port only 12mm in diameter. Patients usually recover from this procedure very quickly and are often back at work within 2 weeks.
If there is a malignancy within the fibroids, it is possible that morcellating the tissue could spread the cancer more widely and morcellation is not recommended where there is any suspicion or a high chance of malignancy. The Royal College of Obstetricians and gynaecologists has produced a leaflet explaining the pros and cons of morcellation. You can view the document here.
We are not allowed to perform morcellation in women after the menopause or older than 50 years of age.
Some people like to have a full idea of the surgical processes involved. For others this is “too much information”. If you are not squeamish and would like to see diagrams surgical images and an operative video of a laparoscopic myomectomy please follow this link.