Response to the “Comment on the New DGGG AWMF S3-Guideline on Hysterectomy, or a Plea for LAVH as the Gold Standard for Total Hysterectomy Procedures” by Prof. Rudy Leon De Wilde

I would like to thank Prof. De Wilde for his comment. We particularly appreciate his congratulatory remarks about our work and I would like to take this opportunity to pass on his compliments to all the other members of the Guideline Development Group who voluntarily dedicated so much of their time to bring the task to fruition. I would also like to thank Prof. Kreienberg for suggesting the guideline and thank the board of the DGGG for their decision to ask an external panel to review the guideline (which had already been completed at the end of 2012) and – because of the significance of the guideline for healthcare policies – to commission an evidence report. The fact that we were able to recruit Dr. M. Nothacker with her extensive knowledge of both methodology and gynecology can only be described as a stroke of luck.

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