Feasibility and Outcomes of Opportunistic Bilateral Salpingectomy in Patients with Traditional Relative Contraindications to Vaginal Hysterectomy

Study objective: To compare the feasibility of opportunistic bilateral salpingectomy (OBS) at the time of vaginal hysterectomy (VH) for benign disease in patients with and without relative contraindications (RCs) to the vaginal approach and to evaluate the factors that contribute to the inability to perform OBS.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Tertiary medical center.

Patients: Women undergoing hysterectomy for benign indications between November 2014 and October 2017 who were consented for either VH with or without removal of tube(s) and/or bilateral salpingectomy.

Interventions: RCs to the vaginal approach are defined as lack of prolapse (cervix high, cervix not visualized, cervix tucked underneath pubis, or minimal descent), enlarged uterus (≥250 g or a size of a ≥12-week uterus), nulliparity, obesity (body mass index ≥30 kg/m²), previous cesarean section (CS), known adhesions, and known adnexal pathologic condition.

Measurements and main results: A total of 258 patients underwent VH and attempted to undergo OBS within the study period; of these, 112 patients (43.4%) had no RC, and 146 patients (56.6%) had ≥1 RCs. Overall, successful salpingectomy was performed in 86.8% of patients. There was no significant difference in the rate of success in patients without or with ≥1 RCs (84.9% vs 89%, p = .15). Salpingectomy was unsuccessful in 13.2% of patients (n = 34). In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, the odds of unsuccessful OBS were 3.83 times higher in patients without prolapse (confidence interval [CI], 0.99-14.76; p = .051), 2.71 times higher in patients with obesity (CI, 1.23-5.94; p = .013), and 3.07 times higher in patients with previous CS (CI, 1.17-8.08; p = .023) as compared to patients without any relative contraindications. An enlarged uterus was associated with successful salpingectomy (odds ratio, 0.28; 95% CI, 0.08-0.94; p = .039) compared with a normal-sized uterus. When excluding enlarged uterus, patients with 2 to 3 RCs had 11.24 and 6.8 higher odds of an unsuccessful OBS than patients with no (CI, 3.73-33.87; p <.001) and 1 RC (CI, 2.36-19.63; p <.001), respectively. There were no differences in postoperative stay or rates of readmission among patients with or without successful salpingectomy at the time of VH.

Conclusion: OBS is associated with a high overall rate of success in patients with and without traditional RCs to VH. Lack of prolapse, obesity, and previous CS were associated with failed attempt at salpingectomy. Patients with ≥2 RCs to VH should be counseled about the high likelihood of failed salpingectomy.