Study: Hysterectomies Are Safe

There is good news for the more than half-million women each year who get hysterectomies, reports The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.

The second most common surgery in the U.S. is the hysterectomy, removal of a woman's reproductive organs, including the womb, fallopian tubes and the ovaries. There are a number of different disorders and diseases of the reproductive system that lead doctors to recommend hysterectomy.

The most common are uterine fibroids, benign lumps that develop in the womb, and abnormal bleeding. Other reasons include endometriosis, pelvic pain and, less commonly, cancer of the reproductive system. Dr. Senay says hysterectomy is highly effective treatment for many of these conditions.

Understandably, many women are concerned about the consequences of surgery, especially when it comes to bladder, bowel and sexual function. A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that many of these fears are unfounded.

Dr. Senay explains the study looked at the effects of hysterectomy on women who were treated for benign or non-cancerous conditions. Researchers compared the side effects of complete hysterectomy to hysterectomy that doesn't involve the complete removal of all of the reproductive organs.

They found that there were no negative side effects involving bladder, bowels and sexual functions for both surgeries. In fact, bladder function improved overall, and in some cases, sexual function was improved by the reduction of pelvic pain.

There are alternatives to hysterectomy for some complaints. These include localized treatments and surgeries to remove fibroids and heat treatment for endometriosis.

But, Dr. Senay says, it's important to note that hysterectomy is a much better and permanent solution to some of these problems. That's what leads doctors to recommend the procedure.

The study should also be a comfort to women who are afraid of surgery because they think it will cause other problems for them.

With any surgery, there is the chance of infection. And, it takes more time to recover form surgery compared to other treatments. The study found that major complications are pretty rare.