OBJECTIVE: Hysterectomy is the most frequently performed major surgery and is the most commonmajor abdominal operation following cesarean section. The most common indication is uterine leiomyoma.The objective of this study is to evaluate the abdominal hysterectomy indications, intraoperativeand postoperative complications and surgical morbidity.STUDY DESIGN: Demographic information, surgical indications, intraoperative and postoperative complications,hospitalization periods and clinical follow-up information of the patients who underwent abdominalhysterectomy at Hacettepe University Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between2000 and 2004 were retrieved from patients’ files and follow-up forms. Statistical evaluations wereperformed using SPSS 10.0 for Windows program and p<0.05 values were considered as statisticallysignificant.RESULTS: Among 902 patients in whom abdominal hysterectomy was performed the mean age was47.9 (range: 30-77), and the most common hysterectomy indication was uterine leiomyoma (n=552,61.2%). While abdominal hysterectomy alone was performed in only 87 patients (9.6%), bilateral salphingo-oophorectomywas added in 746 patients (82.7%) and unilateral salphingo-oophorectomy was performedin 69 patients (7.7%) together with hysterectomy. Among patients in whom bilateral salphingooophorectomywas performed, 569 (76.3%) were in pre-menopausal period. In 119 patients (13.2%) anadditional surgical intervention was applied during operation. Burch procedure and appendectomy wereperformed in 5.5% and 3.8% of patients, respectively. Mean operation time was 1.21 hours and meanhospitalization period was 6.28 days. Intraoperative complication rate was 0.6% and visceral organ injurywas the most commonly seen complication. Postoperative complications were seen in 17.1% of thepatients and the most frequent postoperative complications were febrile morbidity and wound infection(10.1% and 4.3%, respectively). Preoperative and postoperative mean hemoglobin values were 11.9and 10.3 gr/dL, respectively, and 7.5% of the patients received erythrocyte transfusion postoperatively.No operation related deaths were observed during the study period.CONCLUSION: Abdominal hysterectomy, the most frequently performed operation of gynecology clinics,is an effective treatment modality in relieving symptoms and increasing quality of life with relativelylower complication rates. However, its morbidity and complications is agreed to be higher when comparedwith those of vaginal hysterectomy. Therefore, vaginal approach should always be preferred ifpossible. When abdominal route is mandatory, an appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis should be used todecrease the rate of febrile morbidity which is the most commonly seen postoperative complication.