Chapter 35: Hysterectomies

One of the most common misconceptions I've come across during my endo journey is that people automatically assume that a hysterectomy will treat my pain and "cure" my endometriosis. There is no cure for endo. And any doctor that is a true endo expert doesn't support a hysterectomy as a treatment option either (unless there's also probable adenomyosis is suspected, too. But that's a whole other blog post topic.)

A hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus through either the vagina or the abdominal wall. During a total hysterectomy, the uterus and cervix are both removed. During a partial hysterectomy, the uterus is removed but the cervix is left. An oophorectomy is when an ovary is removed. During a bilateral oophorectomy, both ovaries are removed. This results in the patient experiencing immediate and irreversible menopause. My surgeon suspected that my left ovary was damaged from endo and I signed a consent form before surgery allowing him to remove the left one. It wasn't necessary, thank goodness.

So, why is this not treatment for endo? Well, the success of the surgery depends on removing the actual bad tissue, So depending on where the endo is, some could be missed during a full or partial hysterectomy. Also, endo is a condition where the tissue similar to what grows in the uterus grows outside of it. That often means that the uterus itself it perfectly healthy. In fact, removing a normal and healthy organ may have little positive impact on your quality of life if the rest of the disease is ignored (ie. endo of the bladder, tubes, ovaries, bowels, etc), The removal of the uterus will stop heavy periods, which is often an endo symptom. However, unless the rest of the disease is treated, a hysterectomy won't treat the other endo symptoms.