Hysterectomy: ovaries need not be taken out!
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Hysterectomy is a surgical procedure wherein the uterus of a woman is removed completely. This intervention is usually performed in women with cervical cancer. About 600,000 hysterectomies are performed in the US each year and about 50% of these also include oophorectomy, which is the removal of the ovaries. The reason why surgeons tend to remove the ovaries as well is preemptive - to prevent the development of ovarian cancer.
However, a recent review of clinical studies indicate that this intervention is actually unnecessary, even unbeneficial to the health of the patient that it is supposed to protect.
Once the ovaries are removed, premature menopause sets in. Under such circumstances, women who are at premenopausal age are placed under hormone replacement therapy which, in recent years, has been linked to many health problems.
However, when the ovaries are left alone, they will continue to produce female hormones that provide protection from many of these problems including heart disease, stroke and age-related disorders such as osteoporosis and dementia.
Another advantage of leaving the ovaries in place is the fact that young women can still have children even if they don’t have a uterus. They can still produce eggs which can then be fertilized and implanted in a surrogate mother’s womb.
There are of course women who have high risks for ovarian cancer and for them, this oophorectomy might be necessary. But for a large of number of premenopausal women, ovary removal is not justified, the study says.
Sources:
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Jul 16;(3):CD005638
MedicineNet.com, 18 July 2008
Nora says...
For women to choose whether they will consent to removal of their ovaries they need to be informed about the functions of the ovaries and the consequences of their removal.
It is the responsibility of gynecologists to inform women about the functions of the organs they recommend removing, and the consequences of loss of those functions when they are removed. To fully inform women the medically correct words must be used. Women need to be told that their ovaries are their gonads, and that the medically correct word for removal of the ovaries is female castration.
There are two issues of primary concern about this article that poses the question of whether the ovaries should be removed when a hysterectomy is performed. First, the ovaries produce hormones throughout a woman?s life, including estrogens, progesterone and androgens, which are released into the general circulation in precise and constantly varying amounts in order to maintain the balance called normalcy. Neither pharmaceutical hormones nor medical/surgical procedures can replicate this normal balance of hormone production, circulation and continual spontaneous adjustment to the body’’s needs.
Second, and equally important, it is of concern that because the focus of this article is whether the ovaries should remain intact or be removed that women and men may feel that as long as the ovaries remain intact that removing the uterus is inconsequential.
The uterus is a hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ that provides support to the bladder and the bowel. When a hysterectomy is performed the vagina is shortened and made into a closed pocket. Women who experience uterine orgasm (most women are unaware that it is contractions of the uterus that they feel during intense, pulsating orgasm) will not experience it if the uterus is removed.
Every woman and man needs to be fully informed about the functions of the female organs and the consequences of removing them. The HERS Foundation’’s website has a short educational video “Female Anatomy: the Functions of the Female Organs” that should be seen by every woman before she is told to sign a form consenting to a hysterectomy and/or castration. This short video is available to view free at http://www.hersfoundation.org/anatomy.
Rayven, 2 x gestational surrogate says...
I’ve known many women who have had hysterectomys and have gone onto have their own children via surrogacy. I’ve even known many who choose to be egg donors as well, having seen the hardships women face with infertility first hand.