Hysterectomy: Abdominal / Vaginal

A hysterectomy can be defined as the surgical procedure that is carried out to remove the uterus. A woman might require this procedure for several reasons such as chronic pelvic pain symptoms, cancer of the uterus, cervix or ovaries, uterine fibroids, endometriosis and infections as well.

After a hysterectomy, you won’t have menstrual cycles, and you won’t be able to get pregnant anymore. There are several hysterectomy procedures, and one may choose between two or more options based on your specific situation and condition. There are two types, abdominal and vaginal.

• Abdominal Hysterectomy Abdominal hysterectomy is the most commonly done; during which Dr Essel will remove the uterus and any other reproductive organs. During this procedure, Dr Essel will make an incision on the abdomen. An advantage of this hysterectomy procedure is that this would give the gynaecologist and obstetrician a good view of the womb and other reproductive organs.
• Vaginal Hysterectomy As the name suggests, the uterus will be removed through the vagina in this procedure. During a vaginal hysterectomy, your gynaecologist or obstetrician, Dr Essel will make an incision near the top of the vagina. The most important benefit of this procedure is that the hospital stay is shorter when compared with the abdominal hysterectomy. Furthermore, females will be able to perform their normal activities in nearly four weeks.

Before performing a hysterectomy procedure, Dr Essel may recommend that a few tests to be done to check for possible cervical cancer, which then could change Dr Essel’s approach to surgery.

Tests may include:

• Cervical cytology or pap test, which then will detect the presence of any abnormal cervical cells or cervical cancer.
• Endometrial biopsy shows if there are any abnormal cells in the uterine lining or the presence of endometrial cancer.
• Pelvic ultrasound, which will show the size of possible uterine fibroids, endometrial polyps or ovarian cysts.

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