When you are wondering what is a hysterectomy, you should know that this is the procedure during which a specialist removes the uterus or the womb of a woman.
It is possible to remove the entire uterus or only a part of it. Once a woman has a hysterectomy, she won’t be able to become pregnant and she won’t have periods.
How does a hysterectomy procedure work?
It is possible that the surgeon will consider adequate to remove your ovaries and Fallopian tubes as well. The ovaries produce the hormones and the eggs, and the Fallopian tube transports the eggs from the ovaries to the uterus. All the organs can be found in the lower abdomen of women.
In case you have a hysterectomy procedure and you didn’t have menopause it is likely that you will enter menopause earlier than you were supposed to.
On the other hand if you have your ovaries removed, you will enter menopause for sure. In this case you should discuss with your doctor the treatment methods for the symptoms, like vaginal dryness or hot flashes.
Kinds of hysterectomy
In case you are thinking about what is a hysterectomy, you should know about the different types. There is the partial, supracervical or subtotal hysterectomy during which only the upper part of the uterus is taken out, and the cervix is left untouched.
There is also the total hysterectomy procedure, and just as the name suggests, during this surgery the entire uterus and cervix is removed.
The third kind is the radical hysterectomy, during which the uterus is taken out, as well as the tissues from the sides of the cervix and the top part of the vagina. Usually this procedure is done in case of cancer.
How is it performed?
Now that you know what is a hysterectomy, you should also know that there are different methods in which the procedure can be performed. The choice depends on the reasons of the procedure and also on your medical history.
There is the abdominal hysterectomy procedure. In this case the procedure is performed through making a cut in the lower part of the abdomen. The incision can be performed horizontally or vertically right above the pubic hair.
You also have the option to have a vaginal hysterectomy. In case you would like to know what is a hysterectomy of this kind, then you should learn that in this case the cut is made through the vagina. The uterus will be taken out through this cut and the cut will be closed with the help of stitches.
Laparoscopic hysterectomy procedure is also an option you have. The advantage of this is
that there is need for only small incisions through which the laparoscopic instruments are inserted. In this case the uterus is cut into smaller parts and removed through the incisions.
As you can see the answer to the question what is a hysterectomy is quite complicated and there is a lot more further information that you could find out about.
