Minimally invasive hysterectomy for endometriosis: Surgical outcomes based on surgeon specialty

Introduction: To evaluate differences in surgical outcomes of minimally invasive hysterectomy performed for endometriosis between general gynecologists and gynecologic oncologists. Methods: Utilizing the 2016–2018 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) hysterectomy dataset, we evaluated baseline characteristics and surgical outcomes for patients who underwent a minimally invasive hysterectomy for endometriosis between general gynecology and gynecologic oncology groups. Results: From 2016 to 2018, a total of 3751 minimally invasive hysterectomies were performed for the primary diagnosis of endometriosis. Of these cases, 3129 (83.4%) were performed by general gynecologists and 622 (16.6%) by gynecologic oncologists. There were several differences in baseline characteristics between the groups. Notably, general gynecologists performed a higher proportion of vaginal hysterectomies (7.9% vs 0.6%, p < 0.01). There were no statistically significant differences in overall 30-day complications or mortality between general gynecology and oncology groups, with the exception of a higher rate of postoperative sepsis (0.8% vs 0.2%, p = 0.01) in hysterectomies performed by oncologists. Compared to general gynecologists, oncologists had a longer operative time (134.9 ± 65.4 min vs 129 ± 60.9 min, p = 0.05). Multivariate regression of multiple tracked and composite outcomes revealed no consistent confounding variables other than race. In fact, African American race was a statistically significant predictive factor of composite complications (OR 1.80, p < 0.01), morbidity (OR 1.84, p < 0.05), and unplanned readmission (OR 2.30, p < 0.01). Surgeon specialty was not associated with composite complications, hysterectomy-specific complications, or readmission. Conclusion: There are no significant differences in surgical outcomes for minimally invasive hysterectomy for endometriosis between these two surgical subspecialties.