149 - Distance from the Uterine Body to the Uterine Artery-ureter Crossover Point in Female Cadavers

Poster Board Number: 149
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Purpose: Gynecological procedures, such as hysterectomies and uterosacral colpopexies, account for over 50% of iatrogenic ureteral injuries, which can lead to urinary complications. To illuminate the amount of space that surgeons have before causing distal ureter injury, our goal was to determine the distances of various points of the uterus to the uterine artery-ureter crossover point (UA-U point) and compare these distances bilaterally.

Methods: The pelves of 25 formalin-embalmed female cadavers at Kansas City University’s anatomy labs in Kansas City and Joplin, MO were dissected to reveal the uterus and the UA-U point. In cadavers with an intact uterus, the distance from the uterine cornu, the center of uterus, the lateral wall of the uterus (immediately medial to the UA-U point), and the cervix to the UA-U point were measured bilaterally. In cadavers who have had a hysterectomy, the distance from the posterosuperior aspect of the bladder apex (representing the location of the cervical os) to the UA-U point was measured.

Results: Distances from each measurement were combined together to create a heatmap from our specific locations to the uterine artery ureter meeting point. We also compared our data from the left and right sides to determine which side of the uterus had the smaller working window for surgeons.

Conclusion: When performing hysterectomies and other gynecologic and pelvic surgeries on women, surgeons need to be aware of the amount of space between the uterus and the ureter to avoid causing distal ureteral injury, which can ultimately lead to other urinary system pathologies.