Hysterectomy: Types, Risks And Recovery

Hysterectomy:

Hysterectomy, a medical term for the removal of the uterus, is commonly performed on patients ailing from uterine cancer, gynaecological cancer, uterine prolapse, persistent vaginal bleeding, chronic pelvic pain, fibroids, or endometriosis.

There are two ways of performing a Hysterectomy: Open and Laparoscopic.

Open Hysterectomy, although still practiced by many doctors, has some drawbacks. For one, it requires the doctor to make a large incision across the belly, due to which the patient has to spend 2-3 days in hospital care. Two, it leaves a scar on the body.

Laparoscopic Hysterectomy, on the other hand, is far less invasive. Instead of one big incision, the doctor makes a few incisions of about a centimetre each near the abdomen through which he lets in a laparoscope having a camera. The images taken by the camera are then projected to a high-resolution screen for the doctor to view and perform the surgery.

There are some clear advantages to Laparoscopic Hysterectomy, which include:

• Less blood loss
• Less scarring
• Less post-operative pain; and
• Quick recovery

There are several surgeons who continue to insist that Laparoscopic Hysterectomy is not an option where the size of the uterus is too large. A surgeon skilled in it, may, however, want to disagree to the view.

The important thing really is for patients to find a surgeon with the necessary skill and the experience - and, no less, having access to the right equipment - to carry out a laparoscopic hysterectomy.

  Hysterectomy can be done in several ways:

• Partial hysterectomy, which removes the uterus leaving the cervix in place.
• Total hysterectomy, which removes both the cervix and the uterus
• Hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, which remove the uterus along with the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and cervix.
• Radical Hysterectomy, which removes the upper portion of the vagina, the surrounding tissues and also the lymph nodes.

Are there any risks related to Hysterectomy?

Hysterectomy is a relatively safe procedure. If at all some complications do arise during surgery, they can be controlled and treated.

The risks of performing a hysterectomy are:

• Urinary tract may be damaged in a few cases; and
• Bladder and rectum may also be damaged.

Other complications include:

• Blood clots
• Infections
• Excessive bleeding; and
• Adverse reactions to anaesthesia

Recovery

After hysterectomy, a patient is kept in the recovery room for a few hours under medical observation. Within a day or two of the surgery, she is fit to start walking.                    

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