A hysterectomy is an operation to remove a woman's uterus. A woman may have a hysterectomy for different reasons, including:
Hysterectomy for non-cancerous reasons is usually considered only after all other treatment approaches have been tried without success.
- Uterine fibroids that cause pain, bleeding, or other problems
- Uterine prolapse, which is a sliding of the uterus from its normal position into the vaginal canal
- Cancer of the uterus, cervix, or ovaries
- Endometriosis
- Abnormal vaginal bleeding
- Chronic pelvic pain
- Adenomyosis, or a thickening of the uterus