Up until about 20 years ago, it seemed like "everyone was getting a hysterectomy"! Indeed, about 1-in-every-4 women ended-up with this operation (which is still performed about 600,000 times/year in the US). Thanks to new medications and technological advances, this major operation is in continued decline. We now have finely-tuned hormone therapies, the Mirena IUD, brand new drugs such as Lysteda and CAM therapies such as accupuncture, and various endometrial ablation devices--all of these can eliminate or drastically curtail troublesome menstrual bleeding. If uterine fibroids (myomas) are causing pain, discomfort or bleeding, they can be shrunken/eliminated by minor procedures such as uterine fibroid embolization, operative hysteroscopy or myomectomy. There are medications (such as RU-486) which are now being studied to assess their ability to shrink fibroids.
Thanks to adavances in small incision "minimally invasive surgery", when hysterectomy is the solution, we can often perform it via laparoscopy with resulting rapid recovery and minimal discomfort. It's always imperative for a patient to be a "knowledgable consumer" and explore all treatment options before consenting to a traditional hysterectomy. Happy Holidays!
