LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Hysterectomies: Cancer
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Hysterectomies are performed for a variety of benign (non-cancerous) conditions, most commonly including heavy, painful periods and prolapse of the uterus. The painful, heavy periods can be caused by a variety of conditions including endometriosis, fibroids, chronic pelvic infections, and adhesions. A hysterectomy may ... be advised when a woman has an ovarian cyst or where she has precancerous changes to the cervix that have not resolved with simple treatments.
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THE RISKS: Dr. McLucas says when hysterectomies are done to remove the uterus, the ovaries are often removed at the same time. Among the most common complications of a hysterectomy, HERS lists heart disease, osteoporosis, loss of sexual desire and fatigue. Some hysterectomies are necessary, but Ernst Bartsich, M.D., from New York Weill Cornell University Medical College, says, "Eighty-five percent are not necessary." Many experts agree. Unless cancer is threatening a woman, experts like Dr. Bartsich and Dr. McLucas do not see a need to remove an entire organ and risk the complications.
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The question of ovary removal has long been part of a broader debate over whether doctors are performing too many hysterectomies. Nobody questions the need for a hysterectomy, removal of the uterus, when cancer threatens. But it is most often performed for conditions that are not life-threatening, like fibroid tumors or excessive menstrual bleeding. There are now more options for these disorders besides a hysterectomy.
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Radical hysterectomies are performed on women with cervical cancer or endometrial cancer that has spread to the cervix. A radical hysterectomy removes the uterus, cervix, above part of the vagina, ovaries, fallopian tubes, lymph nodes, lymph channels, and tissue in the pelvic cavity that surrounds the cervix. This type of hysterectomy removes the most tissue and requires the longest hospital stay and a longer recovery period.
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There are several major reasons for hysterectomies; fibroid tumors, an overgrowth of muscle on the uterus, accounts for 28 percent of hysterectomies. Pre-cancerous conditions account for 23 percent, and pelvic floor disorders account for 12 percent.
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The researchers looked at nearly 500 women who had hysterectomies that were not the result of emergency or cancer. Operations were performed in 1 of 9 medical groups in Southern California, over a 2-year period.
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