What are the possible complications of a hysterectomy?
Complications of a hysterectomy include infection, pain and bleeding in the surgical area and damage to surrounding organs (i.e. bowels, bladder, major blood vessels). An abdominal hysterectomy has a higher rate of post-operative infection and pain than does a vaginal hysterectomy. What are the alternatives to a hysterectomy? This depends on why the hysterectomy is recommended. If heavy bleeding is the reason for hysterectomy, the following are the alternatives to consider: Endometrial ablation – The lining of the uterine wall is “burned” causing the lining to scar in order to reduce heavy menstrual blood flow. This is an outpatient procedure with a recovery period from anywhere to a few days to a couple of weeks, compared to the traditional hysterectomy with the downtime of about 4 to 6 weeks. Uterine fibroid embolization – In this procedure, a catheter is placed through the groin and a material is injected into the vessel to block the vessel that is “feeding” the fibroid, causing the
