The first 150 consecutive laparoscopic vaginal hysterectomy (LVH) cases done by Creighton University faculty members at Mercy Hospital, Council Bluffs, Iowa and at St Joseph Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska were compared with 194 abdominal hysterectomies (AHs) for benign or noninvasive disease. The results indicate that LVH can be accomplished with low morbidity, low length of stay, and with less patient discomfort than experienced by patients who undergo AH.