Unnecessary Hysterectomies and Complications

Hysterectomies are by far the most common form of gynecological surgery, with an estimated one third of women undergoing this surgery by the age of 60. But the surgery is now thought to be widely over performed. Experts suggest that some two thirds of hysterectomies are unnecessary.

A hysterectomy is the removal of a woman's uterus through surgery. There are "total" or "complete" hysterectomies--the removal of the body, fundus, and the cervix of the uterus--or "partial" or "suracervical" hysterectomies--removal of the uterine body while leaving the cervix intact.

While these surgeries can help women with life threatening uterine bleeding or cervical cancer, there are a number of other treatment options which are substantially less invasive and do not have the many negative side effects of hysterectomies.

There are a number of debilitating possible side effects of hysterectomies that can persist for the remainder of a patient's life including:

Hormone imbalances
Issues with sexual libido
Urinary incontinence and vaginal causes the rapid onset of menopause, which can be devastating as all of the normal effects of menopause happen suddenly and with great force rather than slowly and in stages as it is normally meant to occur.

There are certain things that can make a medical malpractice claim regarding unnecessary hysterectomy very strong, including:

Failure to explain the medical condition adequately
Failure to suggest or inform patients of treatment alternatives
Failure to obtain consent to the procedure when alternative treatments were available
Misdiagnosis of cervical cancer or ovarian cancer

As there are many alternative treatments now available for hysterectomies, doctors should always err on the side of caution when choosing whether or not to perform this extreme measure.

To find out more about unnecessary hysterectomies, visit the website of the Washington medical malpractice attorneys of Fuller & Fuller.