Hysterectomy
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Summary
A hysterectomy is surgery to remove a woman's uterus or womb. The uterus is the place where a baby grows when a woman is pregnant. After a hysterectomy, you no longer have menstrual periods and can't become pregnant. Sometimes the surgery also removes the ovaries and fallopian tubes. If you have both ovaries taken out, you will enter menopause.
Your health care provider might recommend a hysterectomy if you have
- Fibroids
- Endometriosis that hasn't been cured by medicine or surgery
- Uterine prolapse - when the uterus drops into the vagina
- Cancer of the uterine, cervix, or ovaries
- Vaginal bleeding that persists despite treatment
- Chronic pelvic pain, as a last resort
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
Related Issues
- Ovarian Cancer: Still Possible After Hysterectomy? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Pap Smear: Still Necessary After Hysterectomy? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Specifics
-
Laparoscopy
(National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
- Oophorectomy (Ovary Removal Surgery) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Radical Hysterectomy (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
Images
- Hysterectomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Videos and Tutorials
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Scarless Hysterectomy
(BroadcastMed)
- Baptist Hospital, Miami, FL, 10/17/2013
Clinical Trials
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Hysterectomy
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Reference Desk
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Female Reproductive System
(National Cancer Institute)
Find an Expert
- womenshealth.gov (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Hysterectomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Hysterectomy - abdominal - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Hysterectomy - laparoscopic - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Hysterectomy - vaginal - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish