Treatment Options
Discover Advanced Procedures for Gynecological Conditions
Comprehensive Care for Women's Health
Discover Minimally Invasive Procedures
The AAGL is committed to advancing minimally invasive gynecologic surgery. This page provides an overview of various treatment options available for managing gynecological conditions, helping you to understand the procedures and their benefits.
Cryotherapy is a procedure that uses freezing to destroy cells. The doctor uses a special instrument that delivers a dose of extreme cold precisely to the targeted abnormal cells on the cervix or endometrial cells in the uterus (endometrial cryoablation), effectively killing these cells in 95% of cases.
Cystectomy is the surgical removal of a cyst. Usually, a laparoscopic cystectomy can be done on an outpatient basis (you leave the hospital the same day) and normal activities can be resumed in a week or two.
D&C stands for “dilatation and curettage,” a procedure in which your doctor dilates or opens the cervix and scrapes the lining of the uterus. A D&C is often performed in cases of heavy, abnormal uterine bleeding, only for diagnostic and not for therapeutic purposes.
Women with menorrhagia who do not wish to have children and for whom medical therapy has not provided relief from their heavy bleeding may be candidates for a procedure called endometrial ablation, which stops or reduces heavy bleeding by destroying the lining of the uterus.
Various approaches for treating fibroids include medications, minimally invasive procedures like laparoscopic and hysteroscopic myomectomy, and non-surgical techniques such as uterine fibroid embolization (UFE). Open surgery options like abdominal myomectomy and hysterectomy are also available, depending on the size, location, and number of fibroids.
Hysterectomy is a surgical procedure that removes the uterus. The term is based on the Greek word for uterus – “hyster” – plus the suffix that means removal – “ectomy.” In everyday usage, hysterectomy may refer to the removal of not only the uterus but also the cervix, though it does not necessarily mean removal of the ovaries.
Hysteroscopy is a technique for visually examining the cavity of the uterus using a long, thin telescope-like instrument (hysteroscope) that is inserted through the vagina and cervix. A small video camera attached to the end of the telescope gives the doctor a magnified view on a video monitor.
Overactive bladder and urge incontinence (OAB/UI) are not treated surgically, although there are some medications available to help. For long-term management, non-surgical approaches include lifestyle and dietary changes, bladder training, pelvic floor muscle exercises, and electrical stimulation.
Laparoscopic surgery is a minimally invasive, video-guided technique that has revolutionized the field of surgery. Instead of making a large incision through the skin and underlying muscles (laparotomy), a laparoscopic surgeon makes just a few tiny incisions, one for a long, narrow telescope with a camera attached, and two or three others for the instruments needed.
Laparoscopy, the inspection of the pelvic organs through a tiny telescopic camera that projects a magnified view on a video monitor, can be used to diagnose abdominal and pelvic disorders and in some cases to treat them as well.
Laparotomy is open abdominal surgery performed under either general or epidural anesthesia. It involves a 2 to 6 inch