Surgery to remove the uterus can cause premature menopause?

Menopause is a sign that a woman is no longer active in reproducing. This means that the woman can no longer have children. Usually menopause occurs in women aged over 41 years to 55 years. In some cases, there are also women who go through menopause earlier than the average age.

This condition is called premature menopause or premature menopause. The causes vary, ranging from genetics (heredity), unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, and also due to certain medical conditions. Well, according to research, women who have had uterine removal surgery have a greater risk of experiencing premature menopause.

How can menopause occur?

Women have ovaries that produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone. These two sex hormones control the ovulation cycle (the release of an egg from the ovary) and menstruation.

When menopause occurs, the ovaries no longer produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone so that eggs are no longer released and menstruation will not occur. Women who experience this condition no longer have eggs in the lining of the uterus so that after sexual intercourse, the incoming sperm cannot meet the eggs. Finally, fertilization will not be possible and pregnancy cannot occur.

The risk of premature menopause in women with uterine removal surgery

Menopause normally occurs in women over 41 years of age. However, there are some women who experience menopause earlier than that age. Reporting from Healthline, women who undergo surgical processes such as hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus) and oophorectomy (surgery to remove the ovaries, either one or two ovaries) have a higher risk of experiencing premature menopause.

Then, Dr. Patricia G. Moorman, a Duke University lecturer and colleagues conducted a study on the side effects of hysterectomy, namely premature menopause in women aged 30 to 47 years, as reported by Obgyn. Researchers looked at 406 women who underwent hysterectomy and compared them with 465 healthy women. Researchers collected blood samples and gave the women a questionnaire every year for 5 years.

The results showed that women experienced ovarian failure by 14.8 percent in women with hysterectomy, while healthy women had an 8 percent risk. The risk of early menopause is indeed higher in women who undergo surgical removal of the uterus as well as the ovaries. However, the risk also remains high in women with hysterectomy in whom both ovaries are preserved.

Oophorectomy can indeed cause menopause to occur faster, because the place where sex hormones are produced is removed. The procedure to remove one ovary (single oophorectomy) causes the amount of sex hormones to decrease, which causes menopause to occur more quickly. Meanwhile, the surgical removal of two ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy) indicates that the production of sex hormones has actually stopped and menopause can occur soon.

Then what about premature menopause in women with hysterectomy? Based on research conducted by Moorman, hysterectomy affects blood flow to the ovaries which is likely to cause the production of sex hormones to decrease so that the ovaries fail to perform normal functions. In addition, hysterectomy can cause levels of FSH (Follicle-stimulating hormone) to increase, thereby accelerating the thinning of follicles, which is a factor in menopause.

Is premature menopause dangerous?

Apart from the uncomfortable symptoms, namely hot flashes , vaginal dryness, or insomnia, early menopause was quite dangerous. This condition according to research is associated with various complications such as osteoporosis and heart disease which can cause premature death in women.

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