Women’s OBGYN in Atlanta and Alpharetta GA: the different types of hysterectomy

Women’s OBGYN describes the different types of hysterectomy

Women’s OBGYN specialists can perform a surgical operation that will remove the uterus, an organ that is located in a woman’s pelvis, this surgery is known as a hysterectomy.

A hysterectomy may be performed for different reasons, including:

Uterine fibroids, which causes bleeding, pain, or other problems
Uterine prolapse is a sliding of the uterus from its regular position towards the vaginal canal
Cancer of the ovaries, uterus, or cervix
Endometriosis
Abnormal vaginal bleeding
Chronic pain in the pelvis
Adenomyosis, which is a thickening of the uterus

Only after all other treatments have been attempted with no success will a hysterectomy for any noncancerous reasons will be considered.

Types of hysterectomy

Your surgeon, depending on your condition, will remove either all or some of your uterus and possibly other parts of your reproductive system. It’s important to clarify if the ovaries and/or cervix is being removed because health care providers will use these terms inexactly, so it is important to have some clarification:

Subtotal or supracervical hysterectomy: This procedure will keep the cervix in place and remove only the upper part of the uterus.
Total hysterectomy: This procedure removes the whole cervix and uterus.
Radical hysterectomy: This procedure removes the top part of the vagina, the cervix, the whole uterus, and the tissue on the sides of the uterus. This is usually only done when there is cancer present.

A procedure called oophorectomy may also be done to remove the ovaries or the surgeon may leave them in place. A salpingectomy is done to remove the tubes. Also, a procedure that is called a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingectomy-oophorectomy removes both tubes, both ovaries, and the entire uterus.

Important facts to know

Your surgeon will have the most flexibility when performing an abdominal hysterectomy. If a woman has any scar tissues from any previous abdominal surgeries, has cancer, is obese, or has a large uterus, an abdominal hysterectomy may be recommended over any other type of hysterectomy. It is also the best choice in any case of an obstetric emergency such as postpartum hemorrhage. This procedure will take one to two hours to perform.

What are the risks?

There are usually no serious complications or problems from the surgery for most patients who have a hysterectomy. However, it is still a major surgical procedure and does have some risks involved. Including:

Urinary incontinence
Vaginal prolapse, which is a part of the vagina that comes out of the body
Vaginal fistula formation, this an abnormal connection that starts to form between the bladder or rectum and the vagina.
Chronic pain

Although these are uncommon, the other risks that can happen after a hysterectomy include blood clots, wound infections, hemorrhage, and injuries to the surrounding organs.