Abdominal Hysterectomy

Abdominal hysterectomy can be performed for a couple of different reasons. One of them is heavier than normal periods. Among other common reasons for hysterectomy belongs pelvic pain for which other treatments proved insufficient. However, most of the time, abdominal hysterectomy is performed for the treatment of tumors such as fibroids and various cancers, involving uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and cervical cancer.

Many patients are suitable for abdominal hysterectomy unless the patient is suffering from other health problems which might cause risk for the procedure. Though the possibility of pregnancy is crucial in this procedure. Removal of the abdominal uterus either as a total or partial hysterectomy leaves no chance for pregnancy. Therefore, hysterectomy is mostly chosen as the last option when all the other treatments fail.

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Up to 5 days

1-2 hours

Hysterectomy is a surgical operation that is performed to remove the uterus as well as with the surrounding organs. There are several practices for performing the hysterectomy, such as laparoscopic hysterectomy. Abdominal hysterectomy is performed by making an incision in the lower abdomen. Besides the technique of the hysterectomy, the scope of the hysterectomy procedure is also very important. There are different kinds of hysterectomy in terms of its scope, such as partial hysterectomy, total hysterectomy, and radical hysterectomy. Doctors decide on the technique and the type of hysterectomy to perform in accordance with the patient’s medical state.

Before the operation, it is very important to talk to your doctor about your medical conditions in addition to the medications you are taking. This way, your doctor would inform you about your preparation for the abdominal hysterectomy and may recommend you stop taking some medicines. Also, as soon as your abdominal hysterectomy surgery is scheduled, try to lead a healthy lifestyle, with a good, balanced diet, free of cigarettes and full of the workout.

Abdominal hysterectomy operation begins by making an incision in the patient’s lower abdomen. This way, the doctor removes the organs with accordance to the kind of hysterectomy procedure: 
• Partial hysterectomy – during partial hysterectomy patient’s womb is removed without removing the cervix. Though this type of hysterectomy is not very common because of the risk of cervical cancer.
• Total hysterectomy – the surgeon removes both womb and cervix during a total hysterectomy,
• Total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy – in this type of hysterectomy procedure, a doctor attempts to remove not only womb and cervix but also the fallopian tubes and ovaries. 
• Radical hysterectomy – radical hysterectomy is the type of uterus removal with the widest scope. During this type of operation, womb, cervix, fallopian tubes, the ovaries, and a part of the vagina are removed by the surgeons. This method is most beneficial as a treatment for aggressive cancer cases.

After the operation, patients should rest for a couple of days. After the surgery, the patient might be required to stay at the hospital for around 5 days. However, while staying at the hospital, the patient would be asked to take short walks in order to prevent any complications related to the procedure. Also, during the first couple of days, a catheter might be inserted to the patient in order to urinate as well as gauze inserted into your vagina to prevent bleeding. After that, the patient’s at-home recovery can begin, which might last for several weeks.

Most of the time, during the abdominal hysterectomy, an incision is made horizontally along the pubic hairline. Therefore, it would not be noticeable even when you wear underwear.

Abdominal hysterectomy has several risks and complications. Although it is rare, during the procedure, doctors may cause damage to the different organs, such as bowel, bladder, or the ureter. Also, internal bleeding might occur due to uterus removal. Moreover, there is a risk for infections, but in order to prevent such cases, patients are supplied with antibiotics.

Abdominal hysterectomy has several side effects. These include: 
• Early menopause symptoms – this side effect is related to the total hysterectomy or radical hysterectomy operation when the ovaries are removed.
• Weight gain after hysterectomy – Similarly, this side effect might happen because of the removed ovaries resulted by an abdominal hysterectomy.
• Increased or decreased pleasure from sex – Patients who were experiencing pelvic pain may experience increased pleasure from sexual acts, after the surgery. Though, sometimes the patient may experience decreased 

Since there are different types of abdominal hysterectomy, it is difficult to estimate the average success rate of the operation. Though it is known that the rate of patients who survived the uterus removal operation is more than 99%.

Patients who underwent a successful abdominal hysterectomy operation can have improved living standards because of the lack of pain, which was affecting them previously. However, they need to get used to some of the side effects of hysterectomy.

What Is Hysterectomy? 
Hysterectomy is an operation which is performed for removal of the uterus, occasionally combined with the removal of other organs.

What Is the Difference Between Total and Radical Hysterectomy? 
During the total hysterectomy womb, cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries are removed while in radical hysterectomy additionally a part of the vagina is also removed.

Why Abdominal Hysterectomy When there Are Other Methods? 
Sometimes it is not possible for doctors to perform a laparoscopic hysterectomy or vaginal hysterectomy; therefore, doctors decide on performing the abdominal hysterectomy.

Up to 8 weeks

Up to 8 weeks

This content is written and reviewed by our medical content team in September, 2019.