Women’s health centre

Hysterectomy

What is a hysterectomy?

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure whereby the uterus (womb) is removed. It's a common operation. Around 50,000 women in the UK have a hysterectomy every year on the NHS. In addition many women have this operation performed privately. However, there is a move away from carrying out hysterectomies unless it's considered absolutely necessary. It's a major operation with a long recovery time.

Why is a hysterectomy performed?

The most common reason hysterectomy is performed is for uterine fibroids. The next most common reasons are abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis, and uterine prolapse. Only a small percentage of hysterectomies are performed for cancer. This article will primarily focus on the use of hysterectomy for non-cancerous, non-emergency reasons, which can involve even more challenging decisions for women and their doctors.

Uterine fibroids (also known as uterine leiomyomata) are by far the most common reason a hysterectomy is performed. Uterine fibroids are benign growths of the uterus, the cause of which is unknown. Although they are benign, meaning they do not cause or turn into cancer, uterine fibroids can cause medical problems, such as excessive bleeding, for which hysterectomy is sometimes recommended. Uterine prolapse is another condition that can require treatment with a hysterectomy. In this condition, a woman experiences a loosening of the support muscles and tissues in the pelvic area. This loosening can lead to symptoms such as urinary incontinence (unintentional loss of urine) and impaired sexual performance.

The urine loss tends to be aggravated by sneezing, coughing, or laughing. Childbearing is probably involved in increasing the risk of uterine prolapse, though the exact reasons for this remain unclear.

A hysterectomy is also performed to treat cancer of the uterus or very severe pre-cancers (called dysplasia). A hysterectomy for uterine cancer has an obvious purpose, that of removal of the cancer from the body. This procedure is the first treatment for cancer of the uterus.

What tests or treatments are performed prior to a hysterectomy?

Prior to having a hysterectomy for pelvic pain, women usually undergo more limited (less extensive) exploratory surgery procedures (such as laparoscopy) to rule out other causes of pain. Prior to having a hysterectomy for abnormal uterine bleeding, women require some type of sampling of the lining of the uterus (biopsy of the endometrium) to rule out cancer or pre-cancer of the uterus. This procedure is called endometrial sampling. In a woman with pelvic pain or bleeding, a trial with medication is usually given before a hysterectomy is considered.

Therefore, a premenopausal (still having regular menstrual periods) woman whose uterine fibroids are causing bleeding but no pain is generally first offered treatment with hormones. If she still has significant bleeding that causes major impairment to her daily life, or the bleeding continues to cause anaemia (low red blood cell count due to blood loss), and she has no abnormality on endometrial sampling, she may be considered for a hysterectomy.

A postmenopausal woman (whose menstrual periods have ceased permanently) who has no abnormalities in the samples of her uterus (endometrial sampling) and still has persistent, abnormal bleeding after trying hormone therapy may be considered for a hysterectomy. Several dose adjustments or different types of hormones may be required to decide on the optimal medical treatment for an individual woman.