No sex advantage seen with sub-total hysterectomy

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The idea that a “sub-total” hysterectomy better safeguards a woman’s sex life doesn’t seem to be valid, a new study suggests.

They found that women’s interest in sex and their ability to enjoy sexual intercourse is no better a year or so after undergoing a hysterectomy that removes just the uterus above the cervix than after total removal of the uterus and cervix.

The more limited sub-total procedure, known as supracervical hysterectomy, is believed to preserve sexual functioning better than total hysterectomy, Dr. Miriam Kuppermann, at the University of California, San Francisco, and her associates note in the medical journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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Hysterectomy Definition
A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. Depending on the type of hysterectomy, additional pelvic organs or tissues also may be removed.

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Though some studies have found no difference between procedures, others continue to report better outcomes with the supracervical procedure. To further investigate, the research team recruited women age 30 or older slated to undergo a hysterectomy for abnormal bleeding or symptomatic fibroids.

Sixty-eight women were randomly assigned to the supracervical procedure and 67 to total hysterectomy.

Women who underwent supracervical hysterectomy scored higher on scales of orgasm frequency and quality at 6 months after surgery. By 1 year, however, the differences between the groups had dissipated, the researchers report, and by 24 months there were no significant differences between groups in any of the scales of sexual activity or satisfaction.

Kuppermann’s group previously reported that clinical and economic aspects of the two procedures were similar. “This analysis confirms and extends findings from studies conducted in other populations that there also seems to be no difference in sexual functioning or health-related quality-of-life” between supracervical and total hysterectomy, they conclude.

SOURCE: Obstetrics and Gynecology, June 2005.

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Hysterectomy Description

Hysterectomy is an operation that is commonly performed. However, there are often non-surgical approaches to treat certain causes of pelvic pain or bleeding. Talk to your doctor about non-surgical treatments to try first, especially if the recommendation for a hysterectomy is for a cause other than cancer.

During a hysterectomy, the uterus may be completely or partially removed. The fallopian tubes and ovaries may also be removed. A partial (or supracervical) hysterectomy is removal of just the upper portion of the uterus, leaving the cervix intact.

A total hysterectomy is removal of the entire uterus and the cervix. A radical hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus, the tissue on both sides of the cervix (parametrium), and the upper part of the vagina.

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