We all know that surgeries can be not only necessary but are sometimes even life-saving. Yet, other times the reason to go under the knife is taken a little too lightly and the surgery is performed when it doesn’t need to be.
If you don’t have to go under the knife, would you? Here’s one surgery that is being performed far too often on Black women.
While cancer, fibroids, cysts, or problems with menstruation are all probable reasons for a hysterectomy, studies have shown that this procedure is performed far too many times. Data shows that 1 in 3 women will have their uterus removed before they turn 60. After several studies, the data also shows that many women do not need the hysterectomy that they have had. It is the second most common surgery in reproductive-aged women and yet there are so many that are performed that do not need to be.
Wayne State University and the University of Michigan conducted a study on over 3,400 women who had hysterectomies. They found that 1 in 5 of these women had surgery for conditions such as endometriosis and fibroids. These are benign conditions that usually do not require a hysterectomy for treatment. They also found that 2 out of 5 women who had hysterectomies before they turned 40 were unnecessary.
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Dr. Daniel Morgan, one of the authors of the study, said that this data calls into question whether surgeons are cutting when they do not need to be. The hysterectomy is a major surgery and brings about a lot of change in a woman’s life. She will be unable to conceive after the uterus is taken out. She will no longer menstruate which can mess with her hormones and cause her to have to use hormone therapy. It is a surgery that should not be performed unless it is absolutely necessary and in many cases it is done anyway.
The researchers on these studies found that there are other alternatives to the surgery with certain conditions. For example the abnormal bleeding that a woman may be experiencing can get an IUD which controls her hormones and often times helps with this.
Further research showed that only 12% of the women in the study considered doing this before the surgery and only 1/3 of those women had gone ahead with it. Over 40% of the women in the study had no alternative treatments before undergoing the knife.
While medical records do not show if these women were given options for alternative treatments and refused them, the fact still remains that more women are having this surgery than they should.
Sometimes, the reason will not be entirely clear to the doctor and if time and your insurance allows more research to be done, you should investigate it.
The decision whether to have these tests or not should be yours and should be balanced with the side effects and cost of the tests.
For non-life-threatening problems, one option is always to do nothing. However, doing nothing often means more frequent visits to your doctor to monitor your problem.
For a vast number of conditions, there are usually alternatives of varying degrees of effectiveness.
Of course there will be referrals to a specialist or a team of specialists to do your procedure. Knowing the expertise of anyone who will potentially lead your surgery is important.
Whatever you decided, your main goal is to be informed. Stay in constant communication with your doctor and know your options, good bad or indifferent.
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