Hysterectomy

History

The root of the term hysterectomy is hyster, which means womb. The uterus has long been associated with womanhood itself. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks attributed women's supposed emotional instability to a “wandering womb,” termed hysteria. Surgery to remove the uterus was performed beginning in ancient times as an intended cure for both physical and temperamental problems.

The common 19th-century belief that women's reproductive organs controlled both their bodies and minds provoked surgical removal of these organs for a wide variety of reasons, some of which included “ovariomania,” “hystero-epilepsy,” “hysteria,” “melancholia,” “nymphomania,” masturbation, dys-menorrhea, overeating, and suicidal tendencies. The rise of gynecology was accompanied by a widespread increase in hysterectomy and oophorectomy. Since the early 20th century, the medical community has insisted that hysterectomies should be performed only as a last resort for significant physical problems. However, several researchers have claimed that this protocol is not always followed.

Effects

Currently, 10 percent of hysterectomies are performed because of cancer. The rationales for most hysterectomies are benign conditions that can significantly interfere with quality of life, including fibroid cysts, endometriosis, adenomyosis, heavy bleeding, pelvic inflammatory disease, genital prolapse, and severe pain. Many female-to-male transsexuals elect to undergo hysterectomy and oophorectomy as part of gender reassignment surgery. Young women who have hysterectomies cease to menstruate and are rendered infertile. If pre-menopausal at the time of surgery, most women generally experience menopause at close to the average age. If both ovaries are removed (bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy), women go through almost immediate surgical menopause.

Research

The preponderance of feminist social science research on hysterectomy has focused on this surgery as often unnecessary, an example of medical misogyny, and a means of social control. Beginning with Marvin Drellich and Irving Bieber, several psychological studies have discussed a range of emotional reactions among women who underwent a hysterectomy. To some women, losing their uterus is a sad and upsetting event. Their self-image as women may be affected following the operation. Some women may become depressed and experience a period of mourning, especially if they had wanted to become pregnant one day. The emotions experienced after a hysterectomy can also have a physiological cause. Removing the ovaries causes a drop in the hormone levels, which can provoke behavioral changes: irritability, crying fits, insomnia, and so forth. For other women, however, hysterectomy will be a positive experience because the benefits far outweigh the complications from the operation.

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