What you should know about hysterectomy surgery
Hysterectomy is surgery when the uterus (womb) is removed and it may or may not include the removal of the fallopian tubes as well as one or both ovaries. Simply removing a tube and the ovary is known as salpingo-oophorectomy, removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries is called bi-lateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO).
There are also different types of hysterectomy surgery that can take and it all depends on which organs are removed.
1. The total hysterectomy. It is most common of these surgical procedures and involves the removal of the uterus and cervix (neck of the uterus).
2. Hysterectomy Sub-total. Then the body of the uterus is removed but the cervix is not.
3. Radical hysterectomy. This type of surgery is to removal of the uterus, cervix and upper small portion of the woman's vagina and some soft tissue inside the pelvis. This operation is performed only when the patient is suffering from cancer of the cervix and the gynecologist has received special training this type of operation.
It was found that nearly 1 in 5 women will need to undergo a hysterectomy during their lifetime and it is a relatively common, but is almost always necessary when a woman has been diagnosed with cancer of the cervix or uterus. Hysterectomy is also recommended for women who have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
But in fact, most hysterectomies will be carried out not because a woman has cancer, but because they suffer from severe bleeding or pain in the uterus and makes their lives very difficult. This type of hysterectomy operations are carried out on women who do not wish to have children in the future.
Women who suffer from fibroids, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease or heavy periods may choose to undergo a hysterectomy, women, while having a prolapsed uterus have a hysterectomy performed on them in the context of the prolapse repair operation.
Any woman undergoing hysterectomy surgery will be fully asleep under general anesthesia. As they be of different types of hysterectomies a woman can have there are different ways in which surgery can be performed.
1. Abdominal hysterectomy. This is the most common operation and is performed by a cut six inch scar on the abdomen of the woman.
2. Vaginal hysterectomy. This is done through the vagina and therefore leaves the patient with no visible scar that a transaction took place.
3. Vaginal hysterectomy assisted by laparoscopy (LAVH). This is where the surgeon using microsurgery in combination with the surgery through the vagina, to complete the transaction. Again this type of surgery leaves the patient with no visible scars of an ongoing operation.
About the Author
Lee Dobbins writes for http://surgery.health-g8way.com where you can find out more basic information on different types of surgery including the emotional and physical effects of hysterectomy surgery.
Lying down abdominal exercises after a hysterectomy by Pelvic Exercises.com.au