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Minimally Invasive Gynecology Surgery Center

 Patient Resources

Prepare for your surgery

Learn more about the minimally invasive gynecology surgery procedures we offer and find resources to help with surgery preparation.

Preparing for minimally invasive gynecology surgery: What to expect

If you’re having minimally invasive surgery for a gynecologic condition, you’ll likely have many questions about how to prepare and what to do. Review our obstetrics and gynecology patient resources for a surgery guide and more details. Please contact us if you have additional questions.

Minimally invasive gynecology surgery options at the Pavilion for Women

Minimally invasive gynecologic surgery is the use of less invasive techniques in surgery to treat gynecologic conditions. Minimally invasive techniques require no or only a few small incisions (cuts), rather than a long incision. These procedures can reduce pain and scarring, speed your recovery time and lower your risk of complications.

Our nationally recognized gynecologic surgeons offer all the latest techniques in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, including:

Laparoscopy uses three to four small incisions in the pelvic area to access the treatment area. The surgeon inserts special long-handled instruments and a laparoscope (narrow tube with a light and camera) through the incisions.

Our surgeons have years of experience using robotic surgical systems such as da Vinci® to perform laparoscopic procedures. The system includes a console for the surgeon to view the surgical site and control the instruments, which provide greater range of motion than the human hand.

We perform many procedures using laparoscopy, robotic assistance or both, including:

  • Adhesion lysis: Removal of adhesions (bands of scar-like tissue that can form in the abdomen)
  • Diagnostic laparoscopy: Procedure to view inside the abdomen (belly) to find the causes of symptoms such as pelvic pain
  • Excision of endometriosis: Removal of endometrial tissue (tissue similar to the uterine lining that grows outside the uterus)
  • Hysterectomy: Removal of the uterus (womb)
  • Myomectomy: Removal of fibroids (noncancerous, fibrous tumors) from the uterus
  • Ovarian cyst removal: Removal of large cysts (fluid-filled sacs) from the ovaries (organs that release eggs and female hormones)
  • Transabdominal cerclage: Procedure for pregnant women that closes the cervix (canal that connects the uterus and vagina) to prevent it from opening and causing miscarriage or premature birth
  • Tubal ligation: Procedure to cut or block the fallopian tubes (tubes along which eggs travel from the ovaries to the uterus) to provide permanent birth control
  • Tubal ligation reversal: Procedure to reconnect or reopen the fallopian tubes to allow a woman to become pregnant

You’ll need no incisions with hysteroscopy, a procedure that uses a scope inserted through the vagina to examine inside the cervix and the uterus. Our surgeons perform hysteroscopic procedures to diagnose and treat many gynecologic conditions and provide permanent birth control. We offer:

  • Diagnostic hysteroscopy: Procedure to view inside the uterus to find the causes of symptoms such as heavy menstrual bleeding
  • Endometrial ablation: Procedure to treat heavy menstrual bleeding by heating or freezing the uterine lining
  • Endometrial polypectomy: Removal of uterine polyps (growths of endometrial tissue that occur in the uterine lining)
  • Myomectomy: Removal of uterine fibroids using systems such as MyoSure®
  • Transcervical hysteroscopic sterilization: Procedure to place small implants into a woman’s fallopian tubes to provide permanent birth control

Our surgeons also treat pelvic floor disorders such as urinary incontinence (loss of bladder control) and pelvic organ prolapse (pelvic organs that drop into the vagina). We use laparoscopic techniques and minimally invasive approaches that access pelvic organs through the vagina:

  • Colporrhaphy: Vaginal access procedure to tighten muscles in the vagina to treat pelvic organ prolapse. Anterior repair tightens the front wall to reposition the bladder, and posterior repair tightens the back wall to reposition the rectum.
  • Sacrocolpopexy: Laparoscopic procedure to treat pelvic organ prolapse using surgical mesh or a tissue graft to lift and reposition the top of the vagina
  • Urethral slings: Procedures to support the urethra (tube that carries urine out of the body from the bladder) to treat stress urinary incontinence, using tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) or transobturator tape (TOT)
  • Vaginal hysterectomy: Removal of the uterus through the vagina

Our team offers minimally invasive techniques to treat sexually transmitted diseases and other conditions and provide long-term birth control:

  • Cervical polypectomy: Removal of polyps (small, noncancerous growths) from the cervix
  • Contraceptive implants: Procedure to implant a tiny device (about the size of a matchstick), such as Nexplanon®, under the skin of the upper arm to provide long-term, reversible birth control
  • Gynecologic surgeries in pregnant patients: Minimally invasive and hysteroscopic procedures to treat ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids and other conditions during pregnancy
  • IUD insertion: Procedure to insert an intrauterine device to provide long-term, reversible birth control
  • Loop electrosurgical excision procedure: Procedure that uses an electrically heated wire loop to remove abnormal cells and tissue from the cervix
  • Treatment of genital warts: Procedures such as burning, freezing or cutting off genital warts, a sexually transmitted disease

Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology

Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women has earned accreditation as a Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology. Two of our surgeons, Xiaoming Guan, MD, PhD, and Dr. David Zepeda, MD, also received recognition as Surgeons of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology.

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