complete or partial

How do I decide? 51 years old and went through menapause 2 years ago but still bleeding. Uterine wall thick. What to do? What to do?

A partial hysterectomy is when they take the top of your uterus and leave the cervix. A total hysterectomy is the removal of the entire uterus including the cervix (It is really part of the uterus as it is the bottom neck of it). I am wondering if you are asking whether you should have your ovaries removed at the same time or if you are really asking if you should keep your cervix. Many people equate a complete hysterectomy as the removal of both uterus and ovaries. I am not sure if that is what you are thinking.

Anyhow, I kept both my cervix and ovaries for a number of reasons. I am 52 and peri-menopausal. Ovaries continue to produce small amounts of hormones after menopause so if they are removed, that stops. I didn't want to get thrown into surgical menopause and have to start trying to balance HRT. Keeping the ovaries is also less invasive surgery.

The cervix has a number of pros and cons for keeping it. In my case, I felt the risk of cancer and mini-periods did not outweighed the benefit of having less invasive surgery. The less invasive the surgery, the less pain and the faster recovery for most women.

Have you discussed all the pros and cons with your doctor? Are there valid reasons for keeping or removing tissue if it is healthy? Do your research before you make your decision as once the doctors remove something, it is gone for good.

Hope this helps.

Hi Medance,
It sounds like you're still making lots of decisions, which is great. U agree with Danni about talking to your doctor. Since you only get one shot at this, you might want to also get a second opinion and do research on your own. I am scheduled for a supracervical laproscopic hysterectomy. I know I have a 20 % chance that I'll still spot after the surgery, but my issues are fibroids that have invaded my uterus (I think there's more fibroid tissue in there than any other type of uterine tissue!).

I had one ovary removed due to hemmhoragic cysts, swelling, and adhesions that had wrapped around the ovary/fallopian tube. I talked with the doc about the importance of keeping one ovary to do the job of the other. You might ask about the pros/cons of keeping one ovary if that is relevant to you.

Good luck in your quest for knowledge, your trip to the castle, and your recovery!

I drove myself almost insane trying to figure out what to keep and what to lose... uterus had to go - fibroids/long painful periods etc - cervix well to be honest I didn't give that too much thought - surgeon said TAH so I went with it - my dilemma was the ovaries - researched, researched, researched and got myself so confused. End of the day I told the surgeon to keep them unless he found a reason they should go during surgery ( he kept them) - reasons - hadn't reached menopause and didn't want to go through surgical menopause / long term benefits of keeping the ovaries (surgeon said rule of thumb now is for anyone under 65 to keep them) - very valid reasons for removing because of the nasty ovarian cancer but no family history and at the end of the day decided I wasn't going to remove healthy body parts so I didn't get cancer (what next - my breasts!!!). One gp told me not to base my decision on whether or not I would get cancer - made sense. Very hard when op is not for life threatening reasons - one gp I went to (for different reasons) noted I was having an op - and said to me I see you are having elective surgery!!! I was very upset - made it sound frivalous - certainly wasn't elective for me...

Thanks to all of you for responding. And to be honest I really hadn't thought about getting back on this site cause my hyster was postponed until July 12. I did go get a 2nd opinion (my original surgeon had a freak accident) and she sent me to a gynoneuologist. Along with the hyster. I am also doing a bladder sling. I have decided to do a complete hyster. laproscoptic along with the sling. Both doctors have assured me I can be back at my desk job in 2 weeks. If anyone has done both procedures please let me know the recovery. THANKS!

Best advise I can give you is to go to the post-op section and read there what other ladies who have had the same procedure have to say. I am different because I had a TAH so my experience will be different to yours. All I can say is that I hope it only takes you 2 weeks to get back to work (and again every experience is different) but it seems very optimistic to me. Good luck and I hope that everything goes well for you.

I had a LAVH and was able to keep both ovaries. I know that everyone's recovery is different - but I would not have been able to return to work at 2 weeks (and I didn't have to have a bladder repair). If I were you, I would hope for the best, but not be upset if your are not able to go back to work in 2 weeks. I found out from my experience that when my Dr said 4-6 weeks... he MEANT 4-6 weeks!!