Here’s what you need to know:
1. Earlier this year, Dr. Berkle began offering outpatient hysterectomies at MEDARVA Stony Point Surgery Center, an ambulatory surgery center in Richmond, Va.
2. He performs laparoscopic hysterectomies, which remove the uterus using small, centimeter-long incisions in the patient’s abdomen, rather than large incisions.
3. Dr. Berkle told Richmond Times-Dispatch that a patient’s pain is easier to manage with laparoscopic hysterectomies, and that pain management is “the limiting factor when getting them home.”
4. Dr. Berkle also said that many women are able to return to work within two weeks of the outpatient procedure.
5. The Virginia-based healthcare systems HCA Virginia and VCU Health offer outpatient hysterectomies, as well. However, while patients may stay in the hospital for 23 hours after surgery at these facilities, Dr. Berkle’s patients often return home after only an hour.
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