HYSTERECTOMY AND OOPHORECTOMY
Hysterectomy
Hysterectomy means removal of your uterus only. This means you no longer have periods because your uterus and its lining have gone. It does not mean that your hormones have been removed as well. If your ovaries are left they still produce hormones which are still being released into the bloodstream.Therefore, after recovering from your operation, your sex life should not be affected at all.
Oophorectomy
Removal of your ovaries is oophorectomy, and menopausal symptoms result as the ovarian hormones are no longer being released into the bloodstream. Both hysterectomy and oophorectomy mean you can no longer have children.
Oophorectomy is an important decision and should be discussed with your doctor. Once your ovaries are removed the natural supply of oestrogen is stopped, except for small amounts produced outside the ovaries. You must weigh up the very small risk of developing diseased ovaries (and this is the risk taken by every other woman in the community), against the loss of one’s own hormones, the supply of which may continue, if only in a reduced way, until the upper age level if your ovaries remain. You and your doctor must sort this out before operation.
Only one ovary may be removed. This is sometimes done when one ovary is less diseased than the other, particularly in a younger woman. The remaining ovary will still produce eggs and hormones, and, if the woman’s uterus is present, she may still conceive.
You must know the facts It is important to know why you should have a hysterectomy and what it involves, so that you know precisely what will be done and feel satisfied that it is necessary. You and your doctor must sort this out before the operation. I am surprised at the number of women I see who do not know what they have had removed or why it was done. A large number of women, by the time they are sixty, have had hysterectomies. It is important to weigh up the need for any major surgery as there is a risk attached to such a major operation. For this reason, I feel having discussed it fully with your gynaecologist, if you have any doubts in your mind at all, you should have a second opinion from a quite unrelated gynaecologist.
Irradiation of ovaries
Irradiation of ovaries may occur when adjacent areas are irradiated; or it may be used as an alternative to surgery. Hormone production ceases when ovaries are irradiated, and menopausal symptoms may occur quite suddenly as the hormones are cut off, and in these instances the symptoms may be more severe.
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