Table 2.

Primary end point of both trials: major complications. Values are numbers (percentages) of participants

	Abdominal trial		Vaginal trial
	Abdominal hysterectomy (n=292)	Laparoscopic hysterectomy (n=584)	Vaginal hysterectomy (n=168)	Laparoscopic hysterectomy (n=336)
Major haemorrhage	7* (2.4)	27* (4.6)	5 (2.9)	17 (5.1)
Bowel injury	3 (1)	1 (0.2)	0	0
Ureteric injury	0	5 (0.9)	0	1 (0.3)
Bladder injury	3 (1)	12* (2.1)	2 (1.2)	3 (0.9)
Pulmonary embolus	2 (0.7)	1 (0.2)	0	2 (0.6)
Anaesthesia problems	0	5* (0.9)	0	2 (0.6)
Unintended laparotomy:
Intraoperative conversion	1† (0.3)	23 (3.9)	7 (4.2)	9 (2.7)
Return to theatre	1 (0.3)	3 (0.5)	0	1 (0.3)
Wound dehiscence	1 (0.3)	1 (0.2)	0	1 (0.3)
Haematoma	2 (0.7)	4 (0.7)	2 (1.2)	7 (2.1)
Other complications	0	0 (0)	1 (0.6)	0 (0)
At least one major complication	18 (6.2)	65 (11.1)	16 (9.5)	33 (9.8)

A patient may have had more than one complication.

^*These patients converted procedure before the operation: one patient undergoing abdominal hysterectomy converted to laparoscopic hysterectomy before the operation in the abdominal trial and had a major haemorrhage. Two patients in the abdominal trial who were undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy converted to abdominal hysterectomy before the operation and had a major haemorrhage. One patients undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy in the abdominal trial converted to abdominal hysterectomy before the operation and had a major anaesthetic problem. One patient undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy in the abdominal trial converted to abdominal hysterectomy before the operation and had a bladder injury.

^†This patient in the abdominal trial was randomised to abdominal hysterectomy, converted to laparoscopic hysterectomy before the operation, and then converted back to abdominal hysterectomy during the operation.