This surgery takes out your uterus and cervix. Your uterus is your womb. Your cervix is the thick-walled tunnel that connects your uterus to your vagina. This surgery treats things like abnormal bleeding, pain and cancer.
To begin, you lie on a surgical table. We give you medicine to put you to sleep. We make one or more small openings in your belly area. We inflate your insides with air. This gives us room to work.
We'll do the surgery with the help of a device called a "laparoscope." It has a long, thin tube with a light and a camera at the end. It lets us see your insides on a monitor. We carefully guide the laparoscope into your belly so we can see your uterus. We put surgical tools through the other openings in your belly.
Now we free the uterus and cervix. We take these out of your body through your vagina. Or, we could remove them through an opening in your belly. We close the top of the vagina with sutures.
When it's done, we watch you as you become awake and alert. Typically, you can go home the same day. Follow your care tips for a safe recovery.