Do you really need a hysterectomy?

Removal of the uterus (or womb) is the most frequently done gynaecological surgery women undergo.

An estimated 1.2 million women undergo this procedure each year globally to deal with anything from fibroid and prolapse to tumours and polyps.

But researchers at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano have suggested not every hysterectomy is necessary and many can be prevented.

Their study of the prevalence and outcomes of hysterectomies at the hospital is published in the Tropical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Hysterectomy accounted for at least 18% of gynaecological surgeries, mainly among women aged 48 on average. It was most common among women who had gone through multiple births, with at least five children.

Nearly one in three hysterectomies was to deal with uterine fibroid.

Uterovaginal prolapse and ovarian tumour were indications for around 12% each of the surgery. A range of other indications could call for it but only in 10% of cases was it directly related to childbirth, wrote authors Yusuf M, Abba Z and Takai IU, of their study.

“The rate of hysterectomy in this study was high, the outcome was good with low mortality rate,” they reported.

Out of 47 patients, 24 developed complications, mostly bleeding after the one-to-twohour surgery.

They are estimated to have bled out up to 500ml, the equivalent content of a big Coke bottle.

Two women ruptured uterus.

The authors concluded, “Effective medical and conservative management for benign conditions of the uterus should always be considered and hysterectomy should only be done when strictly indicated.” died from