I just want to apologize beforehand if any part of this post is a little strange sounding in any way. I'm about to fall asleep, so my mind is only working at about 30%...
I was on Wikipedia and ended up on the page for Oophorectomy, and of course I went to the part about risks first, since that's really the only thing I cared about learning more about at the moment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oophorectomy#Risks_and_adverse_effects (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oophorectomy#Risks_and_adverse_effects)
I haven't done much research on having a hysto or anything related to internal reproductive organs, but reading this really scared me, especially this part;
"Women younger than 45 who have had their ovaries removed face a mortality risk 170% higher than women who have retained their ovaries."
I may just be reading this wrong since I can't think too clearly right now, but when something says 170%... I don't know. I should probably read this again when I wake up to make sure I understand.
I'm not sure exactly how it is for trans men compared to women, because of the testosterone, and Wikipedia is notorious for having the wrong information on it. I was wondering if any of you know more about the risks of this surgery?
One of the main questions I have is; would it be more dangerous to have everything in there removed, or keep it? Ovarian, uterine and cervical cancer all run in my family, and I'm almost certain that I would end up getting cancer if I didn't have those things removed within a year or two of starting testosterone. But now I'm more worried about the risks of having them removed.
I'd really like to know any information you guys have on those surgeries and the risks vs. the benefits. I suppose I could look it up by myself, but I'm too tired... ^_^; So if you could give me some links to credible sources I would appreciate that, too!
Thank you in advance!
Wikipedia justifies that statement of 170% with the citation of
Survival patterns after oophorectomy in premenopausal women: a population-based cohort study (http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045%2806%2970869-5/fulltext)
My interpretation of this is that women who haven't had an extended run of estrogen in their lives are at greater risk.
However, this is only talking about women who go off all hormones.
Some of the risks like hip fractures would clearly be helped by testosterone.
Oh, I didn't realize that, about the citation. I feel dumb... lol
I didn't know women actually went off of all hormones after getting that done.
Thanks for helping me understand this better, Renate! :)
That's what I was thinking too, since it happens in pre-menopausal women.
Yeah wikipedia kinda drive me crazy sometimes. One time this guy deleted the whole "Legolas" page and
replaced it with the words "a ->-bleeped-<-!"
If you remove ovaries (or testicles) and don't replace the hormones, yeah you are at risk for problems. I had to listen to the estrogen replacement lecture 3x prior to my total hysto; finally I just said my endocrinologist had that covered. :) And glad I had them out. Sister died of ovarian cancer. And glad I had the moobs removed; mom has breast cancer. Funny how that all works out.
Jay