Comparative analysis between outcomes of minimally invasive gynaecological surgeries and traditional abdominal surgeries for benign gynaecological conditions

Objective: To compare outcomes of minimally invasive gynaecological surgeries with open gynaecological surgical techniques in a low-resource setting. Method: The quasi-experimental study was conducted at a tertiary care public-sector hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, from September 2022 to August 2023, and comprised women with benign gynaecological conditions. The subjects were divided into two groups. Group-I included participants who underwent minimally invasive gynaecological surgeries, while Group-II patients underwent open gynaecological surgical intervention. Outcome variables included pre-discharge pain score, post-operative mobility, operative time, blood-loss during surgery, length of hospital stay and intraoperative as well as postoperative complications. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. Results: Of the 319 women, 146(45.7%) were in Group-I with mean age 30.83±5.47 years, and 173(54.2%) were in group-II with mean age 44.87±10.46 years. Body mass index, length of marriage, history of previous surgery, comorbidities and menopausal status were significantly different between the groups (p<0.05). Duration of surgery and hospital stay were lower in Group-I compared to Group-II (p<0.05). Intra-operative complications were not significantly different between the groups (p<0.05), while the differences in post-operative complications were significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: Better clinical outcomes were observed for minimally invasive gynaecological surgeries than open surgeries among women diagnosed with benign gynaecological diseases. Key Words: Minimally invasive surgical procedures, Operative surgical procedures, Laparotomy, Gynaecological diseases.