Hysterectomy: A Clinico-Pathological Correlation Of 500 Cases

Hysterectomy is the most commonly performed gynaecological surgery throughout the world. Few studies have been performed describing the pathologic findings in hysterectomy specimens and examining the relationship between the pre-operative clinical indication and pathologic diagnosis. This study was undertaken to identify the most common pathologies identified in hysterectomy specimens and to correlate the findings with the clinical indications. Five hundred hysterectomy cases, over a period from April 2008 to March 2010 formed the subject for the present study. Ninety six percent of the hysterectomies were done for benign indications. Surgical specimens were formalin fixed and paraffin embedded. The sections were stained with routine hematoxylin and eosin stain. The most common pathology identified was leiomyoma followed by adenomyosis. Hysterectomies done for uterovaginal prolapse showed atrophic endometrium on histopathological examination. Other less frequent pathologies identified included endometrial hyperplasia, chronic endometritis and endometrial polyp. The pathologic examination confirmed the clinical diagnosis in all cases of leiomyoma, adenomyosis and endometrial polyps. This study confirms that benign pathologies are more common in hysterectomy specimens than their malignant counterparts. Histopathology is mandatory for mandatory for ensuring diagnosis and thus management, in particular of malignant disease.