Introduction

We aimed to identify the characteristics of cases involving postoperative bleeding after laparoscopic gynecologic surgery, and to clarify the optimal cutoff value of postoperative drainage and vital sign trends for predicting the need for re-laparoscopy.

Methods

Of 6366 patients with gynecologic benign pathologies who underwent laparoscopic surgery at our institution between 2009 and 2018, 13 (0.2%) required re-laparoscopy for postoperative bleeding. After reviewing the perioperative course in the re-laparoscopy group, we examined the postoperative total drainage volume (mL), drainage flow rate (mL/h), and vital sign trends in the re-laparoscopy group (n = 13) and among patients with substantial drainage volume ≥300 mL at 12 hours postoperatively but who did not need re-laparoscopy (observation group, n = 107).

Results

In the re-laparoscopy group, initial laparoscopic surgery included uterine surgery (myomectomy, n = 7; hysterectomy, n = 1), adnexal surgery (n = 3), and uterine plus adnexal surgery (n = 2). Postoperative bleeding sites included the uterine wound (n = 6), adnexal wound (n = 5), umbilical trocar site (n = 1), and mesentery (n = 1). The re-laparoscopy and observation groups did not differ regarding initial surgical characteristics or postoperative vital sign trends. For distinguishing between the re-laparoscopy and observation groups, the drainage flow rate was superior to total drainage volume. Continuous excessive drainage (flow rate >50 mL/h) at 3 hours postoperatively was associated with a remarkably increased risk for re-laparoscopy (odds ratio, 40.07; 95% confidence interval, 5.44 to 1776.41, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

In cases with continuous excessive drainage later than 3 hours postoperatively (flow rate >50 mL/h) should be considered for exploratory re-laparoscopy to enable prompt diagnosis and intervention.