Nearly 1 In 5 Women Who Have A Hysterectomy May Not Need It

Hysterectomy is the second most common surgery performed on reproductive-age women in the United States, after the cesarean section. An estimated 1 in 3 women in this country will have had their uterus removed by age 60. Though the number of hysterectomies has declined in recent years, a new Michigan-based study of nearly 3,400 women suggests there is still plenty of reason to question whether they're being used appropriately for women who have no clear high-risk indications like cancer. Nearly 1 in 5 women who underwent a hysterectomy for benign conditions -- such as uterine fibroids, abnormal bleeding, endometriosis or pelvic pain -- may not have needed the surgery, researchers with the University of Michigan and Wayne State University found. For younger women, those age 40 and under, the researchers found that pathology analyses for nearly 2 out of 5 did not support use of the procedure. "The issue is surgical appropriateness, the question of 'Are we using this at the right time?'" study author Dr. Daniel Morgan, an associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan Medical School, told The Huffington Post. Hysterectomies are major surgery, ending menstruation and a woman's ability to conceive. The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology this week, relied on the medical records of women who had hysterectomies in 52 Michigan hospitals during a 10-month stretch in 2013. Researchers found that...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news