Indications

A hysterectomy is the removal of the uterus, resulting in the inability to become pregnant (sterility). May be done through the abdomen or the vagina.
Hysterectomy may be recommended for:
- severe, long-term (chronic) infections (pelvic inflammatory disease)
- severe inflammation of the lining of the uterus (endometriosis)
- tumors in the uterus
- uterine fibroids, cancer of the endometrium
- cancer of the cervix, cancer of the ovary
- severe, long-term (chronic) vaginal bleeding
Learn more about Hysterectomy - series
Reviewed By: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine.


