The dangers of having a hysterectomy at age 50

The uterus is a characteristic of women and an important reproductive organ for women. However, the uterus is prone to disease. It may be due to hormonal interference or the entry of bacteria, which may cause abnormal secretions in the complex structure and cause inflammation. Therefore, many women often have uterine problems. More serious cases require hysterectomy. However, once the uterus is removed, the ovaries and accessory tissues will also be removed, so the body will age faster.

Effects of hysterectomy on women's health

The uterus is a characteristic of women and an important organ in the female reproductive system. As we all know, the uterus is an essential organ for maintaining menstruation and female fertility under the regulation of various hormones in the female body; at the same time, the uterus is also an endocrine organ with complex functions. Many biologically active substances secreted by the uterus can participate in the regulation of local and systemic physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, hysterectomy undoubtedly brings many negative effects on the patient's physical, psychological and life adaptation after surgery.

Hysterectomy not only destroys the endocrine dynamic balance between the premenopausal uterus and ovaries, but also causes ovarian function to deteriorate.

The phenomenon of decline. Since a considerable part of the blood supply to the ovaries comes from the ascending branches of the uterine arteries, although hysterectomy in premenopausal women tries to preserve ovarian tissue, the ligation of adjacent blood vessels will still affect the blood supply to the ovaries, thereby reducing ovarian function and causing a sudden drop in serum estrogen levels. There is a lack of a gradual adaptation process, so menopausal symptoms occur significantly earlier.

Most women will experience varying degrees of decreased sexual function after a hysterectomy, which is mainly manifested by: lack of sexual desire, reduced frequency of sexual intercourse, difficulty in orgasm, etc. In the past, there has been little research on sexual life issues after hysterectomy. The reasons are many, such as patients are often ashamed to talk about sex, and doctors have no time to take care of or ignore it.

It is now gradually recognized that the patient's sexual harmony and health after surgery will also involve the consolidation of marriage and family. Therefore, the issue of sexual life cannot be ignored for women of any age after hysterectomy. The following factors are analyzed to determine the impact of hysterectomy on women's sexual life:

(1) After hysterectomy, inflammatory granulations often form during the healing of the vaginal stump, leading to bleeding and dyspareunia during sexual intercourse;

(2) Vaginal shortening after hysterectomy and vaginal dryness due to decreased estrogen levels can both cause pain during sexual intercourse;

(3) Cervical resection destroys the uterine and vaginal nerve plexus endings, resulting in reduced sexual response and difficulty in orgasm.

(4) In addition, psychological changes also affect the quality of sexual life of women after surgery, such as fear of surgical pain, anxiety about not having menstruation after hysterectomy, inability to have children, and worry about her husband's change of interest in her after surgery, worry about loss of sexual function, premature aging, and masculinization. Some patients may suffer from excessive worry, which may seriously affect the harmony of their marital life and family life, affect their work, and may develop mental symptoms such as depression and anxiety, and cause psychological disorders.

However, another group of patients may experience improved quality of sexual life. This is mostly related to the patient's related diseases before the operation, such as severe anemia, back or pelvic pain caused by preoperative uterine fibroids, abnormal menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, etc., which are relieved after surgical removal of the uterus. The sexual function problems caused by these factors are also alleviated, and sexual function, overall health status and quality of life will also be improved. In addition, the quality of sex life of some women will also improve because they no longer have to worry about pregnancy.