A vaginal cuff is the closure at the top of your vagina where your cervix used to be. It is typically sewn together as part of a total or radical hysterectomy, which involves removal of your uterus and sometimes the upper part of your vagina. Vaginal cuff tears and complications after a hysterectomy can be serious, and they often require treatment by a doctor. People can reduce their risk by following doctors' recovery plans after a hysterectomy, getting plenty of rest and staying away from activities that strain the incision, and reporting any symptoms as soon as they appear.
This article presents a 46-year-old woman who presented with a vaginal cuff dehiscence after a total hysterectomy at Magee-Womens Hospital, a large academic medical center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The procedure was performed laparoscopically, and the patient had a body mass index (BMI) of 30.
Vaginal cuff dehiscence is a rare complication after hysterectomy, and it can have life-threatening consequences. The most common symptom is vaginal discharge, and it may be difficult to distinguish from postoperative abdominal pain. A rare complication is pelvic organ prolapse, which can lead to bowel evisceration through the dehiscence. Surgical factors unique to laparoscopic hysterectomy, such as excessive thermal damage from the use of monopolar and bipolar energy for colpotomy creation and hemostasis, may be associated with an increased risk of dehiscence.