If heavy periods are running your life and medicines have not helped, two surgical answers usually come up: endometrial ablation, a short procedure that destroys the lining of the uterus, and hysterectomy, which removes the uterus. Both have been compared in randomized trials. Ablation is quicker and easier to recover from; hysterectomy is more certain…
A hysterectomy is a good operation when it is the right one, but for most non-cancerous problems it is not the only choice. Fibroids, heavy periods, adenomyosis, endometriosis and prolapse can all be treated in ways that keep the uterus, and guidelines in the US and the UK ask doctors to offer these options before,…
Tubal ligation and hysterectomy are often mentioned in the same breath because both end the chance of pregnancy. They are very different operations, though. Tubal sterilization is a short procedure on the fallopian tubes, done mainly for birth control. A hysterectomy removes the uterus and is done to treat a medical problem such as fibroids,…
If fibroids are causing heavy periods, pain or pressure and medicines have not helped enough, the two operations you are most likely to hear about are a myomectomy and a hysterectomy. A myomectomy removes the fibroids and keeps the uterus. A hysterectomy removes the uterus, and the fibroids with it. Neither is “better” for everyone….
If heavy periods are wearing you down, you may have been offered two very different answers: a hormonal IUD such as Mirena, placed in a short office visit, or a hysterectomy, which ends periods for good. The two have been compared head to head in a randomized trial, and the results are more balanced than…