I am concerned

I am 48 years old. I had a hysterectomy about 18 months ago, an open abdominal surgery. I have recently read some articles from different sources, stating that when you have a hysterectomy, your torso collapses overtime. It also says that your hips widen and your rib cage drops. You basically lose your figure, and your height decreases, and you could end up with severe back problems. Anyways, I am seriously freaked out now. I seem okay so far, but I am still worried this could happen to me. I belong to another group, and a woman there said this happened to her. She said her rib cage is almost down to her hips now. Does anyone know if this kind of thing happens a lot??

no, that doesn't happen. please don't worry about that. that is a scare tactic type of website that states that.

I agree with the above; most of these stories are pure fiction, created by people who have no medical training or personal experience, and bearing zero resemblance to the experiences of the thousands of women who have hysterectomies every year, including the women on this site. One good analogy is to think of your body as your living room, and your uterus as a chandelier; if you cut what's supporting the chandelier, does the whole room collapse? The only connective tissues that are cut are those that support the uterus, which are then re-attached elsewhere in the pelvic cavity, while the connective tissues that support the rest of your body remain firmly intact. I'm coming up on 6 years post-op, and other than a few pounds of pandemic-related weight gain, my body is still the same as it was beforehand. My advice is don't listen to these charlatans; stick with us, and we'll give you the straight goods. Wishing you all the best for continued health and healing!

We have over 515,000 members and I've not seen one report this issue in the 16 years I've been here. There are some sites out there whose intentions are less than honourable.

It might help to read our article on the subject:

MYTH BUSTER: Will my Skeleton Collapse after a Hysterectomy?

Hope that helps!

I’m not sure if the ligaments to my uterus were reattached or not. I think the normal procedure for an open abdominal surgery, is that they are ligated and tied? I’m not sure what that means. Also, if this is just a scare tactic....then I wonder why someone from another group that I belong to says this happened to her. She’s one of the group moderators, so I don’t think she would lie about it.

It has been 11 years since I had my hysterectomy at age 48. I have lost no height at all, my hips still fit in the same sized jeans (smaller actually!), have no back pain and my rib cage is still right where it should be. If indeed those things did happen to someone, I would say it was a pretty isolated event.

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Originally Posted by JoJo4215 I belong to another group, and a woman there said this happened to her. She said her rib cage is almost down to her hips now. Does anyone know if this kind of thing happens a lot??

That's fiction, and someone is pulling your leg. You would be surprised at the agendas out there.

With the millions of women who've had hysterectomies (500-600,000 a year = 5-6 million over 10 years, 10-12 million over 20 years), every one of us should know several personally or see dozens regularly.

I've never met or seen a woman whose ribs were down to her hips. Have you?

I read about this on the “Hers Foundation.” I thought this was a reputable foundation?