Hysterectomy

Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus and is the second most frequently performed surgery in premenopausal women. (Cesarean sections are first.) About 600,000 hysterectomies are performed each year in the US, which is the highest rate among any nations with published data on this procedure. By age 60, about a third of American women have had this procedure. The highest hysterectomy rates are in women between ages 40 and 44. Women in the South and Midwest are more likely to have one than those in the Northeast and West.

The number of procedures has continued to increase, but only slightly in recent years. Endometriosis accounts for 18% of these procedures, but the rates vary widely by ethnic group, with the great majority of endometriosis-related hysterectomies performed in Caucasian women.

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It should be noted that hysterectomy does not necessarily cure endometriosis. One study reported that endometriosis reappeared in 13% of women within three years of a hysterectomy and in 40% after five years.

Most women are satisfied with the procedure. A major analysis of evidence on hysterectomies reported that symptoms related to menstrual problems decline significantly in most women, although none completely disappear for all women. The majority of women also experience improved quality of life and emotional functioning, although 8% of women who were not depressed and 12% of women who were not anxious before the procedure developed these emotional states afterward.

Still, one study suggested that 70% of recommendations for hysterectomies did not meet the standard of care as determined by expert groups. In such cases, patients were not given alternative choices or adequate diagnostic evaluations. Any woman, even one who has reached menopause, who is uncertain about a recommendation for a hysterectomy for fibroids should certainly seek a second opinion.

Determining the Extent of the Hysterectomy