Risk of hysterectomy at the time of myomectomy: an underestimated surgical risk

Objective: To evaluate the risk of hysterectomy at the time of myomectomy and the associated 30-day postoperative morbidity. Design: Cohort study. Patients: Patients who underwent myomectomies identified from the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program from 2010 to 2021. Intervention: Unplanned hysterectomy at the time of a myomectomy procedure. Main Outcome Measures: The Current Procedural Terminology codes were used to identify myomectomies performed with or without concurrent hysterectomy. Preoperative characteristics and morbidity outcomes were obtained. The univariate analysis was performed using the chi-square and Fisher exact tests, as appropriate. Multivariate logistic regression reported risk factors for individuals who underwent hysterectomy at the time of myomectomy. P values of <.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 13,213 individuals underwent myomectomy, and 399 (3.0%) had a hysterectomy performed during myomectomy. Concurrent hysterectomy was most frequently performed with the laparoscopic approach (7.1%), followed by the abdominal (3.2%) and hysteroscopic (1.9%) approaches. Age ≥43 years, obesity class II and higher, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class greater than II, tobacco use, longer operative time (>85 minutes), and laparoscopic approach were associated with a significantly increased risk of hysterectomy. When adjusting for age, body mass index, race, ASA class, case type, surgical approach, operative time, preoperative transfusion, preoperative hematocrit, and high fibroid burden, an increased odds of hysterectomy was noted for white race, longer operative time, ASA class III or higher, obesity, laparoscopic approach, and low fibroid burden. Patients who underwent concurrent hysterectomy had a longer median length of hospital stay (2 vs. 1 day), longer median operative time (161 vs. 126 minutes), increased intraoperative/postoperative blood transfusions (14.5% vs. 9.0%), and higher rates of organ/space surgical site infections (1.5% vs. 0.5%) and return to surgery (2.0% vs. 0.7%) than those who did not (P<.05). The risk of a major complication within 30 days of myomectomy increased in patients who underwent concurrent hysterectomy after adjusting for relevant confounders (adjusted odds ratio, 2.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.8–3.2). Conclusion: The risk of hysterectomy during a myomectomy is higher than previously reported. The patient age of ≥43 years, obesity, white race, ASA class III or higher, longer operative time, and laparoscopic approach were associated with higher odds of hysterectomy. Identification of patients with these risk factors can aid in patient counseling and surgical planning, which may help reduce the unexpectedly high rates of hysterectomy at planned myomectomy.