A hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus (womb) surgically. So what is the uterus, what functions does it have? First of all, I will tell the normal functions of the uterus, then I will explain the diseases that require surgery related to the uterus and which surgical methods they can be.
Uterus
It is a pear-shaped and sized (8-9 cm) organ rich in muscle tissue. The layer lining the inside of the uterus is called the endometrium. This layer is renewed with each menstrual bleeding. While it is thin at the beginning of the menstruation, it gradually thickens until the next menstruation. It is where the baby settles when pregnant. If there is no pregnancy, this tissue is excreted vaginally as menstrual bleeding. The same events repeat in the other menstrual period. In other words, the uterus is the place where pregnancy develops in women of reproductive age (from puberty to menopause). On the 14-15th day of each menstrual period, the mature egg cell that is cracked from the ovaries enters the tubes. Simultaneously with the maturation of the egg in the ovaries, it settles in the thickened intrauterine tissue (endometrium) and continues its further developments here until the end of pregnancy. Along with being pregnant, intrauterine tissue, which is normally excreted with menstrual bleeding, is also not excreted, causing that menstruation not to be seen, ie delayed. If pregnancy does not occur, the intrauterine tissue is excreted and the same events repeat in the next menstrual period. With the end of immature egg cells in the female ovary, menstrual bleeding ends and the menopause period begins.
In other words, the place of hormone production in women is the ovaries. The uterus prepares for pregnancy by responding to the hormones produced in the ovaries. If not conceived, the endometrium is excreted as menstrual bleeding. The reason why I am telling all this from the beginning is that many patients think that they will enter menopause because they will not have menstruation after hysterectomy. However, it is the hormones (Estrogen-Progesterone) secreted from the ovaries that determine menopause. Patients whose ovaries are not removed during the surgery and who have not started menopause, that is, patients with ovaries that still produce hormones, do not enter menopause. Menopause is related to the reduction of egg cells in the ovaries and not producing hormones. Naturally, in patients with a uterus, menstrual bleeding occurs with the hormones secreted in the ovaries.
Abdominal Hysterectomy
It is performed by opening the abdominal cavity with an incision made on the abdomen to remove the uterus surgically. The incision, which is called Pfannenstiel and is made in cesarean section operations, is applied from the lower abdomen. Sometimes this surgery is performed with an incision made vertically downwards from below (sometimes above) the navel (such as large fibroids, cancer cases). The recovery time is longer in surgeries where such incisions are made.
Quotation from Husnugorgen.com.
