Health
Study: Hysterectomy Eases Pain
For an overwhelming majority of women who undergo hysterectomy, the surgery significantly relieves painful, debilitating gynecological symptoms that other treatments do not help, a 2000 study says. The University of Maryland School of Medicine study of 1,300 women appeared in the March 2000 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Researchers say 92 percent of women interviewed said they had a decrease in the severity of their symptoms after the surgery. They also reported less depression and anxiety, and an overall improvement in their quality of life.
A hysterectomy is surgical removal of the uterus and possibly the fallopian tubes and ovaries. About 600,000 hysterectomies are done each year in the U.S., making it the most common major women's surgery unrelated to pregnancy.
Researchers say an earlier study involving the same group of women found sexual functioning improved dramatically following hysterectomy. The study finds along with an increased desire for sex, women had sex more often, better orgasms and experienced less pain during intercourse.
"This study should offer a great deal of reassurance to women who are considering a hysterectomy," says Dr. Kristen H. Kjerulff, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and principal investigator for the two-year study. "The findings indicate that for most women with chronic and severe gynecologic problems, hysterectomy does provide long-term symptom relief."
Researchers say 92 percent of women interviewed said they had a decrease in the severity of their symptoms after the surgery. They also reported less depression and anxiety, and an overall improvement in their quality of life.
A hysterectomy is surgical removal of the uterus and possibly the fallopian tubes and ovaries. About 600,000 hysterectomies are done each year in the U.S., making it the most common major women's surgery unrelated to pregnancy.
Researchers say an earlier study involving the same group of women found sexual functioning improved dramatically following hysterectomy. The study finds along with an increased desire for sex, women had sex more often, better orgasms and experienced less pain during intercourse.
"This study should offer a great deal of reassurance to women who are considering a hysterectomy," says Dr. Kristen H. Kjerulff, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and principal investigator for the two-year study. "The findings indicate that for most women with chronic and severe gynecologic problems, hysterectomy does provide long-term symptom relief."
