During a vaginal hysterectomy, the surgeon makes an incision inside your vagina to get to the uterus. Next, the surgeon detaches the uterus from the ovaries, fallopian tubes and upper vagina, as well as from the blood vessels and connective tissue that support it. The uterus is then removed through an incision in the vagina.
Your surgeon closes the incision with stitches that are later absorbed by your body, so the stitches do not have to be removed later. If you have a vaginal hysterectomy, you will not be able to see the incision.
Your surgeon may do your hysterectomy using a method called robotic-assisted surgery or laparoscopically-assisted hysterectomy.
Both procedures allow your surgeon to remove the uterus vaginally while being able to see your pelvic organs through a slender viewing instrument called a laparoscope. Your surgeon does most of the procedure through small abdominal incisions aided by long, thin surgical instruments inserted through abdominal incisions.
If your procedure is robotic-assisted, your surgeon controls the instruments from a console nearby. He or she can see inside your body with a magnified, 3D view. The magnified, 3D view allows your surgeon to be very precise. Your surgeon removes the uterus through an incision made in your vagina.