Hysterectomy to be shown on TV for first time ever
A WOMAN undergoing a hysterectomy will be shown on television for the first time this week as part of a series on women’s health.
Channel 5 will show retired teacher Gillian Libretto having the operation without sedation.
She suffered a prolapse following three complicated pregnancies between the ages of 34 and 42, when she was deemed to be a ‘geriatric mother’.
In Women’s Health: Breaking The Taboos, viewers will watch her having the procedure to remove her womb at the New Victoria Hospital, Kingston, Surrey. Afterwards, she is filmed holding the organ, which she says made her feel ‘emotional.’
Mrs Libretto, 75, says she wanted to take part in the show to educate younger women about the risks of having babies later in life. She told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The cameraman was going, “Oh my God, wow.” It was an education for him to see this and that interested me a lot. I would like to be part of an educational programme to do with women’s health.
‘I find that so many people, and particularly women who are going into childbirth, are so ignorant about their bodies and I feel very guilty as an educationalist.
‘I hoped that by being on the programme I might not only help educate women, but be a source of information for women who might be going through it right now.
‘Also, I was having babies at an age when I probably shouldn’t have been. Women are having babies later in life, and they need to be warned that the older they are, the tendency is for more gynaecological problems.
‘I guess it’s about making women aware, giving them all the information they need to make correct decisions about their body.’
In the programme, hosted by Cherry Healey, viewers will see Mrs Libretto explaining her feelings while holding her uterus.
She says it made her feel emotional because she was saying goodbye to a part of her body that enabled her to become a mother.
The programme is part of a series hosted by Ms Healey which Channel 5 bosses hope will end taboos about women’s health issues.
Ms Healey was also present for the operation and said: ‘We filmed with Gillian when she was having a hysterectomy and she volunteered to stay awake for it, and she kindly let me watch it. It was amazing.
‘I’m squeamish, but I thought, “I have to do this. When am I going to get this opportunity again?”’
Other issues discussed in the series include the removal of fibroids, incontinence and experiencing being perimenopausal.
• Women’s Health: Breaking The Taboos runs from Tuesday to Friday on Channel 5 at 7pm.