New Hysterectomy Procedure Giving Women Peace Of Mind

For many women---just the thought of getting a hysterectomy can be frightening.

But for those suffering from various gynecological problems---a new procedure known as v notes --is providing women with peace of mind.

“Basically, it’s a modernized way of doing vaginal hysterectomies. So vaginal surgery is the gold standard from the American---gynecology. But unfortunately, in years it’s really declining in practice, there isn’t a lot of physicians who are doing it because traditional surgeries have become so much more popular. So v notes combines traditional laparoscopic surgery with vaginal surgery so that the patients have better outcomes and better recovery.”

Dr. Brooke Naffziger --of Carolina Women’s Physicians at Lexington Medical Center--is the first physician to practice the procedure in the Midlands.

“I’m passionate, I believe in it. I’m working with applied medicalized as faculty and proctors for other physicians so we can bring it to other hospitals and more importantly I can bring it to other physicians at Lexington Medical because I think it’s a really great benefit for patients,” says Naffziger.

And this isn’t your old school type of hysterectomy—no cuts or incisions required-- and for most---recovery time is shorter.

“VNOTES s is going to be through the vagina, using laparoscopic equipment and special other equipment and so the patient doesn’t have any abdominal incisions, and I’m able to access the pelvis and the uterus and also do work with the fallopian tubes and ovaries and some other procedures.” “they’re going to have a quicker recovery, so a quicker return to work. It’s an outpatient procedure so they don’t have to stay in the hospital. There’s less post operative pain, so les pain medication use, there’s also decreased risk of infection with this form of surgery and also a decreased risk of injured other organs,” says Naffziger.

For patients like Amy Spencer—the v notes procedure was a life changer.

“Ever since I was little and started to get my period, I would have very heavy periods and they never got better and I knew I was done having children. Every kind of birth control I tried did not work and they were always irregular I never knew when I was going to get them, so I talked to my doctor about it and we both decided it was a good choice,” says Spencer.

Spencer says recovery was easy.

“My recovery felt like I didn’t even have a surgery, I was Christmas shopping the next day, I went hiking within a few days. I didn’t feel anything really.”

Dr. Naffziger says the procedure can also be an option for permanent sterilization, treating ovarian cysts, or other issues with endometriosis.