Hysterectomy Risks

Hysterectomy is one of the most commonly performed surgeries, and one of the safest surgeries, too. This may be attributed to doctors gaining more expertise from performing the procedure on a regular basis. In addition, most of the women who undergo hysterectomy are generally healthy, which helps ward off the complications.

Occurrences of hysterectomy risks are relatively low, with only ten percent of hysterectomy patients experiencing any kind of complication. Because open or abdominal hysterectomy is usually the technique used for difficult cases, it is the type of hysterectomy that comes with the most risks.

Hysterectomy Risks – What You Can Expect

Hysterectomy risks include the risks that come with all types of surgeries, as well as risks that are caused by the use of anesthesia. However, the following are the risks that are particular to a hysterectomy surgery:

• Bleeding after the surgery that lasts until the recovery period
• Bleeding during surgery, which may call for blood transfusion
• Damage to the tube (ureter) that connects the bladder and the kidney
• Damage to organs close to the uterus
• A bruise or collection of blood (hematoma) around the area where the surgery was performed
• Inability to urinate after the hysterectomy
• Wound separation
• Blood clot in legs (DVT)

Hysterectomy Risks – What You Should Know

Before undergoing the procedure, it helps for you to be aware of the risks of hysterectomy. It is then important for you to have a dialog with your doctor about the consequences of hysterectomy. Here are some things you should ask your doctor:

• What you can do to minimize the chances of hysterectomy risks?
• If there are tests you must take in order to determine problems that may cause complications
• If you will keep your ovaries
• If you should take antibiotics to prevent the complications from occurring
• How many hysterectomies the surgeon has performed?
• How many of the hysterectomies performed led to complications?
• The type of hysterectomy that the surgeon recommends
• The procedure with the least hysterectomy risks
• If there are hysterectomy techniques that cause more or less complications than the others

When making a decision on whether to go through with the hysterectomy or not, it’s important to be aware of the different risks of hysterectomy, so that you can determine if the benefits from the surgery outweigh the risks that come with it.