Sign in  |  Register

Illustrated Health Encyclopedia
[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Ency. home > Surgery > H > Hysterectomy

Hysterectomy    See images

Overview | Recovery | Risks

Alternative names:

Vaginal hysterectomy; Abdominal hysterectomy; Removal of the uterus

Definition:

A hysterectomy is a surgical removal of the uterus, resulting in the inability to become pregnant (sterility). It may be done through the abdomen or the vagina.

Description

Hysterectomy is a very common operation. The uterus may be completely or partially removed, and the tubes and ovaries may also be removed at the time of hysterectomy. A partial (or supracervical) hysterectomy is removal of just the upper portion of the uterus, leaving the cervix intact.

A total hysterectomy is removal of the entire uterus and the cervix. A radical hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus, the tissue on both sides of the cervix (parametrium), and the upper part of the vagina.

A hysterectomy may be done through an abdominal incision (abdominal hysterectomy), a vaginal incision (vaginal hysterectomy), or through laparoscopic incisions (small incisions on the abdomen -- laparoscopic hysterectomy).

Your physician will help you decide which type of hysterectomy is most appropriate for you, depending on your indication for surgery and your medical history.

Indications

Hysterectomy may be recommended for:

  • Tumors in the uterus
  • Cancer of the cervix or severe cervical dysplasia (a precancerous condition of the cervix)
  • Cancer of the ovary
  • Severe, long-term (chronic) pelvic pain
  • Endometriosis, in those cases in which the pain is severe and not responsive to other treatments
  • Severe, long-term (chronic) vaginal bleeding that cannot be controlled by medications
  • Prolapse of the uterus
  • Complications during childbirth (bleeding)

Ency. home > Surgery > H > Hysterectomy

[an error occurred while processing this directive]