Why are hysterectomies performed?Fibroids are the most common
cause for hysterectomy, they are associated with as many as 40%
of more than 600,000 hysterectomies performed in the US
annually. Depending on their location, fibroids can cause either
heavy bleeding, pelvic and back pain, or pressure on bowel and
bladder. Most hysterectomies performed for fibroids [the medical
term is myoma] are performed by the abdominal route since the
fibroids may grow to be quite large. Fibroids are almost never
cancerous. Although not as common as fibroids, cancer may affect
either the lining of the uterine cavity [endometrial cancer],
cancer of the cervix, or sarcoma, a rare cancer in the uterine
muscle. These cancers are treated with hysterectomy. Often the
ovaries will be removed at the same surgery to prevent spread.
Endometriosis is another common cause for hysterectomy. In this
disease, the lining of the uterus [the endometrium] spreads to
other parts of the pelvic cavity such as the ovaries. It is
stimulated each month