Hysterectomy

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

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hysterectomy National Institutes of Health

Find an Expert

• Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health
• Find an Ob-Gyn American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Reference Desk

• Female Reproductive System National Cancer Institute

Specifics

• How Surgery Can Affect the Sex Life of Females with Cancer American Cancer Society
• Laparoscopy National Library of Medicine
• Oophorectomy (Ovary Removal Surgery) Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Start Here

• Hysterectomy Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health

Patient Handouts

• Hysterectomy Medical Encyclopedia
• Hysterectomy – abdominal – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
• Hysterectomy – laparoscopic – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
• Hysterectomy – vaginal – discharge Medical Encyclopedia

Images

• Hysterectomy – Series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia

Related Issues

• I Had a Hysterectomy. Do I Still Need to See My Ob-Gyn? Do I Still Need Pap Tests? American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Ovarian Cancer: Still Possible after Hysterectomy? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Encyclopedia

• Pelvic laparoscopy Medical Encyclopedia
• Pneumothorax – series — Normal Medical Encyclopedia

Journal Articles

• Hysterectomy