Ovary removal may not be required

[Posted: Wed 16/07/2008 by Joanne McCarthy - www.irishhealth.com]

There is no evidence that removing a woman’s ovaries as well as her uterus during a hysterectomy operation, as surgeons often do, provides any additional benefit, researchers have said.

The Cochrane researchers have warned surgeons to consider the procedure carefully.

Around half of women aged 40 or above who undergo hysterectomies also have their ovaries removed. The reason most commonly given for carrying out an oophorectomy (the removal of one or both ovaries) at the same time is that it prevents ovarian cancer. However, as well as producing oestrogen, the ovaries also provide important hormones, such as androgens, which may have important clinical effects that have yet to be identified.

“Until more reliable research is available, removal of the ovaries at the time of hysterectomy should be approached with caution,” said Dr Leonardo Orozco of the OBGYN Women’s Hospital San José in Costa Rica.

The researchers believe there is little evidence to support the idea that removing the ovaries during a hysterectomy provides an overall health benefit. Only one trial, involving 362 women, compared hysterectomies with oophorectomies to hysterectomies without oophorectomies.

Although this trial showed a very slight positive effect on psychological wellbeing when oophorectomies were performed, the team have emphasised that much more data is required before any conclusions can be drawn.

“There could be a real benefit or harm associated with oophorectomies, but it has not been identified. More research of higher methodological quality is needed,” Dr Orozco concluded.

Anonymous   Posted: 16/07/2008 09:55

removing a woman’s ovaries as well as her uterus during a hysterectomy operation, as surgeons often do, - as surgeons often do??????? What the HECK? Why on earth would any competent medical person remove organs from a patient when they are not diseased? And deprive a woman of such extremely important hormons in the process? Why on earth is this uneccesary surgery not stopped? The fact that we needed a study to tell us the above beggars belief.

KISSEY  Posted: 29/07/2008 19:17

i had a hysterectomy some years ago. i was in my late 30s. i had no choice as i kept getting my period every two weeks and i was in terrible pain. i had no end to pain at all and it was really driving me up the wall. my overies i still have, but before i had my operation, i asked them if i could have another child. yes i was told, but there was a risk that i could lose the baby or i could die too, as my womb was very enlarged. i wanted to try for a girl as we had lost one many years ago through a miscarriage. i was deeply upset. today i am grand. i have two boys, and a great husband. my boys and my husband supported me through everything as i went through hell after my op. i am fine today. i DONT MISS GETTING MY PERIODS AS I WENT THROUGH HELL.

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