Surgery for a Cure

Current medical reports state that a Hysterectomy is the second most common surgery performed on women today in the United States. A Hysterectomy may be performed for several reasons; cancer, fibroid tumors, prolapsed uterus, and endometriosis are among those reasons. Often times this surgery is used as a last resort when all other treatments have been tried and have failed to relieve the symptoms. Hysterectomy’s performed on pre-menopausal women under the age of 30 is primarily the result of endometriosis. Endometriosis is a problem that occurs when the tissue lining the inside of the uterus grows outside the uterus on the ovaries, or other pelvic and abdominal organs. There are several symptoms and severities, but the most debilitating is the chronic pelvic and lower back pain. It is this chronic pain that often lead to the drastic decision to remove all the organs responsible for the problem, regardless of the risks and before trying all the other treatments available. Even though there are a couple of different types of hysterectomies, ultimately none of them are a cure, and the only possible relief of symptoms requires all of the organs that the hysterectomy removes. First of all, a hysterectomy is not an absolute cure for endometriosis. The lesions formed by this disease can spread not only to the reproductive organs, but also the intestines, kidneys, bladder, and other abdominal organs. Removal of the uterus will in fact stop the spread of future lesions, but the pain can and will still be present. Also, the lesions, if they have spread, can also still cause irreparable damage to other more sensitive organs such as the bladder. Ultimately a woman will still need to be on medications to control hormone levels and pain, and coincidentally they are the same medications that doctors prescribe to treat endometriosis is patients with their uterus still intact. Another type of hysterectomy is a radical hysterectomy, which removes not only the uterus, but also removes both ovaries. The ovaries are the organs that produce hormones in women. Without the ovaries a woman will immediately be thrust into menopause, which for a 55 year old woman it would be completely normal, but for a woman under the age of 30 it can pose serious health risks. When a woman goes into menopause their body stops producing estrogen. Estrogen, among other things, helps the female’s body maintain strong bones. Without it, osteoporosis can occur within about 10-20 years, which is ok at the age of 80, but at the age of 40 it would make for a miserable life. On one hand, the pain from endometriosis will be gone, but the pain from a broken hip or fractures in the spine is most definitely worse. So, in order to combat premature osteoporosis, doctor’s will then put a woman on artificial hormones such as an estrogen patch, or oral pills. This medication will relieve the symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and mood swings, and can also help maintain healthy bones and avoiding osteoporosis. However, the other side effects of estrogen supplements can be harmful, and even fatal. If the level of estrogen is too high, then it can cause a recurrence of the original pain from the lesions that are still present. Artificial estrogen has been proven to increase chances of developing breast cancer. Also estrogen