New technology at Gainesville hospital improves hysterectomy surgery

GAINESVILLE - For many millions of women, hysterectomy¨ meant a large abdominal incision (and scar), many sutures or staples and weeks of pain following the operation that prevented their return to normal activities. At more than 600,000 procedures per year, hysterectomy, or removal of the uterus, is the second most commonly performed surgical procedure in the United States today, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Historically, women have been unable to return to normal activities for six or more weeks following a stay of several days in the hospital. But now, new surgical technologies available at Northeast Georgia Medical Center virtually eliminate the use of foreign materials such as sutures, staples or clips and help to: