The Debate Boiling around Hysterectomy
The most commonly done gynecological surgical procedure is hysterectomy. The process involves either the complete or the partial removal of the uterus. It is quite ironic in its own way because it deprives the woman any further chance of ever conceiving—a role most women consider as their part on this earth. Due to the fact that it is a commonly performed gynecological surgery procedure, a debate has grown around it stating that hysterectomy is done for rather unwarranted and unnecessary reasons.
Reasons Hysterectomy Is Performed
To help settle the matter, medical personnel have explicitly laid out that the reasons hysterectomy is done is only for the following:
* Hysterectomy is a must-do procedure when there is a threat from cancers and tumors affecting any part of the uterus or in adjacent areas that may also affect the uterus in time.
* In some instances, hysterectomy is done as a prophylactic treatment for those who have a strong family history of cancers affecting the reproductive system, especially breast cancer. Sometimes, hysterectomy is done as part of the recovery process from such cancers.
* As a sort of last-ditch effort to curtail endometriosis and adenomyosis, especially when the growth affects the uterine wall or if the growth passes right through the uterine wall. The procedure is done only after all clinical and pharmaceutical efforts have been exhausted.
* Hysterectomy is also done to correct a severe case of placenta that has formed inside the birth canal or when the placenta attaches to other organs, especially when there is excessive bleeding observed.
* The procedure is also done when there is a severe developmental disability due to a malignant growth in the uterus or other similar problems.
* Although rather rare, hysterectomy is also done on transmen who have decided they don’t want to have any part in childbearing and want their uterus taken out.
Advantages of Hysterectomy
The obvious benefit of undergoing hysterectomy is that the procedure can rectify any possible problem that reproductive system cancers may bring. This is especially true if the procedure is done to preempt the possible onset of breast cancer among women who have a strong history of family members having cancer before.
The Risks Associated with Hysterectomy
Hysterectomy is known to contribute to the early onset of menstruation. For women who underwent the process, menstruation comes in more or less 3 years earlier than the common age for the period to come. The situation is attributed to the disruption in the blood supply to the ovaries after hysterectomy. Moreover, women who have undergone hysterectomy are at risk for developing osteoporosis and bone fractures due the modulatory effect of the estrogen on calcium metabolism and the drop in serum estrogen levels can cause to excessive calcium loss and bone wasting.
Alternatives to Hysterectomy
Though hysterectomy is frequently done, there are alternatives to it. One of these alternatives is endometrial ablation wherein the growth on the lining of the uterus is destroyed with heat. Other procedures employ radio frequency and ultrasound surgery to kill any harmful growth in the uterus.