Objective: The objective of the study was to describe the surgical anatomy of infraureteral parametrium.
Study design: Findings of laparoscopic dissections during 12 type III radical hysterectomies were compared with findings obtained by bilateral pelvic dissections of 5 fresh and 5 embalmed female cadavers and to magnetic resonance imaging of 10 healthy controls.
Results: Two anatomical entities of the parametrium were distinguished: (1) the lateral mesometrium corresponding to the blade containing vessels and lymph nodes of the uterus; and (2) the infraureteral parametrium extending dorsally from cervix and vagina. The lateral paracervix classically described under the ureter was never identified. Infraureteral parametrium appeared as a fibrous tissue extending in a lateral, dorsal, and caudal direction on both sides of the rectum and very close to the pelvic plexus.
Conclusion: Our results attest to the absence of infraureteral parametrium, raising the issue of the surgical relevance of radical hysterectomy classification and the redefinition of the concept of radical hysterectomy.