Skip to main content

Hysterectomy Stories: A woman and her decision about her cervix

Image
By
We have discussed sexuality after a hysterectomy before, but some women feel that part of a discussion on sex after a hysterectomy should include a decision regarding whether to keep your cervix. Interestingly keeping the cervix was a normal part of the hysterectomy operations in the early part of the 20th century, but by 1960, as a way to control cervical cancer, and other reasons, gynecologists began to recommend that the cervix be routinely removed at the time of a hysterectomy. Although under the microscope the cervix and uterus have different tissue compositions, the fact is that the cervix and the top portion called the uterine fundus, actually make up a single organ, and the surgery is usually more effective and in some ways more straightforward if both the cervix and the uterus are removed together. So as for the pros and cons of taking the cervix: on the pro side:  fewer cases of cervical cancer and the con side: removing the cervix disrupts some pelvic support and the surgery in that region is near both the bladder and the bowel. But in the 1980s Scandinavian researchers put forth the idea that sexual function is preserved better if the cervix was left. This early proclamation was not backed up by study, but by patient reports. When the studies of sexual function were done not all the work looked at all aspects of sexuality. Most women who had a good sex life after their hysterectomy, had a good sex life before their hysterectomy. So if you are having gynecologic problems, and sexuality problems, if you need a hysterectomy to fix the gynecological problems, you likely will need other treatments to treat your sexual function. Leaving the cervix will not really change the way you approach sex.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments and questions. WE hope you will buy our book, https://www.gynogab.com/shop This blog is not intended to replace medical care, but is informational only. We hope you will become a follower or visit Womens Health Practice. We offer a variety of unique services including MonaLisa Touch, Coolsculpting, Labiaplasty, and Gynecoloigic Clinical Research Trials. For more information on menopause see

Popular posts from this blog

Passing Your Uterine Lining, Menstrual Period Norms

By
Decidual Cast Periods can be fairly easy, passing some tissue at a time, or off can come the whole lining in one piece called a decidual cast. Generally the lining of the uterus is only 6-8 mm thick at the time of the menstrual period, and it is shed gradually, a few cells at a time. The decidual cast is when the entire lining passes spontaneously.  It's not uncommon, but it usually both uncomfortable, and alarming to some. But us women are designed to have some sort of periods  Or Not? We have to pass tissue each month. Or Not? Are they good for us? Or Not? Do we want them? Or Not? Is this something that is individual? Or Not? It's a complex topic that I will be discussing a lot over my time in this blog. So lets start with basics: How much do we bleed and what are we loosing, and just what was this that the patient passed? And another basic: track your periods, and the Women's Health Practice site http://www.womenshealthpractice.com/media/pdf/menstrual_chart.pdf you...
311 comments
Read more

You Have an IUD: But a Positive Pregnancy Test

By
Fortunately IUD pregnancy failures are rare. But if you have an IUD for contraception, and you get a positive pregnancy test, you probably ask yourself, what next? Well, make your gyno appointment promptly, this is a condition that is not typically an emergency, but it can be and it’s not handled over the phone or on a blog, or through self diagnosis! That being said, some researchers from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas decided to look back at over 4100 women who had IUDs and of those 42 cases who became pregnant in their institution, over about a year period of time, to help understand what these women could expect when they got to their gyno and what actually happened to their pregnancies. Accurate pregnancy diagnosis, pelvic examination, and pelvic ultrasound were the cornerstones of the evaluations. They had very specific ways they looked at their ultrasound to prove there was no pregnancy in the fallopian tube, or partially in the fallopian tube...
199 comments
Read more

Post-Endometrial Ablation Syndrome

By
If you have had an endometrial ablation and have developed symptoms of pelvic pain you might have post endometrial ablation syndrome. What is post-endometrial ablation syndrome? It is a constellation of symptoms due to entrapped blood or tissue within a uterus that has previously undergone an endometrial ablation. We are able to diagnose this at Women's Health Practic e but occasionally other conditions are causing similar symptoms. Other complications of endometrial ablation include pregnancy, risks from pre-existing conditions such as a polyp or fibroid, an infection of the uterus, or a pregnancy. If you have had a tubal ligation then it is possible that the condition could be post-ablation tubal sterilization syndrome. The ablation procedure is designed to destroy all lining tissue, but in fact there is no way to confirm the completeness of the ablation. It is thought that either residual or regrowth of the tissue is producing the symptoms of post-endometrial ablation syndrom...
647 comments
Read more