What is morcellation?

Morcellation is a procedure used to take large structures out of small incisions; this technique is sometimes used to perform minimally invasive hysterectomies. Lauren Streicher, MD, discusses this surgical method.

Transcript

00:00

The reason this is such a big advantage is, of course, we can take a fibroid out through a very large incision.

00:06

But when we take a fibroid or uterus out through a large incision, the risks of that are much higher. [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:18

Morcellation is a procedure that surgeons use to take big things out of little incisions.

00:24

So for example, many surgeons perform laparoscopic hysterectomy, which is removal of a uterus;

00:31

or laparoscopic myomectomy, which is removal of a fibroid. And the way that we do this-- because when

00:37

we're doing a laparoscopic procedure, of course, the incisions are quite small, only about half an inch. But the fibroid or the uterus might be very large.

00:45

So doctors decided that the best way to get this uterus out-- instead of making a great big incision-- is to do morcellation

00:53

And essentially, morcellation is a device that's like a little teeny scalpel inside a long tube that divides

01:00

the tissue into long strips so that it can come outside the body. And by using morcellation, this enables

01:08

doctors to do procedures like myomectomy and hysterectomy using techniques like laparoscopy,

01:15

a robotic-assisted hysterectomy, or myomectomy. The reason this is such a big advantage is, of course, we can take a fibroid out

01:23

through a very large incision. But when we take a fibroid or uterus out through a large incision, the risks of that are much higher than with laparoscopy.

01:31

This is like bleeding, infection, blood clots after surgery, or even scar tissue, which might cause problems down the road.