The study included 1445 women who underwent total hysterectomy via the abdomen. The main indication for operation were uterine myomas - 1163 patients (80.48%) and hyperplasia of endometrium - 118 cases (8.17%). One patient died due to embolus in the pulmonary artery. Re-laparotomy was performed in 21 patients, due to postoperative bleeding in 11 cases (0.76%) and to mechanical or paralytic ileus in 10 patients (0.62%). Two periods - 1984-1989 and 1990-1995, were compared for postoperative complications. It was found that the incidence rate of complications following total abdominal hysterectomy was lower in 1990-1995, having decreased from 12.90% to 4.60% (including: inflammatory infiltration of the postoperative wound from 8.88% to 2.36% and thrombotic venous inflammation from 4.36% to 1.30% febrile conditions over 38C were reduced from 7.54% to 3.07% requirement of antibiotic therapy from 29.15% to 16.51% and postoperative hospitalization time from 9.7 to 7.6 days.

Keywords: radical abdominal hysterectomy