gery."
We've always informed patients of the risks of bleeding, infection and injury
to the bowel, bladder, ureter and major blood vessels. There's also the risk
that the procedure could end up an open laparotomy, because even with min-
imally invasive techniques, pelvic and uterine architecture and/or adhesions
might occasionally preclude the successful use of the morcellator. Certainly
sonographic imaging detailing the dimensions and position of the pelvic mass
or masses, meticulous documentation of these findings, as well as a careful
history and physical are warranted. Unfortunately, suggested methods for dis-
tinguishing a tiny uterine sarcoma from surrounding leiomyomata are largely
untested and expensive. And since 40% of women have fibroids, conducting
an MRI for every patient would be prohibitively expensive to society as a
whole, probably not beneficial, and would do little to detect what is usually a
G Y N E C O L O G Y
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