Do you have periods after oophorectomy?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Dr. Ngo Thi Uyen, Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Nha Trang International Hospital

In women, the ovaries are known for their primary function of producing eggs and performing an endocrine function to produce female sex hormones. There are many issues surrounding oophorectomy, one of the big questions of patients is whether they still menstruate after oophorectomy?

1. Is there a period after oophorectomy?

For women of reproductive age and in the stage of wanting to have children, one of the problems many women fear the most is having to remove one or both ovaries at the same time. There are two main cases that need oophorectomy:
● Women with dangerous diseases that directly affect their health and fertility such as: twisted necrotic ovarian cysts, cancer ovaries ....
● Women who are nearing menopause need to be removed to limit the risk of ovarian cancer (usually performed in conjunction with hysterectomy for pathological reasons of the uterus). bow).
Every woman has 2 ovaries, left and right. In case both sides have the disease and are at risk of cancer, then it is imperative that the doctor prescribes removal of both ovaries.
For the removal of both ovaries in prepubertal and pubertal women (using the menstrual phenomenon as a landmark) there are different changes. If both ovaries are removed before puberty, it will lead to many female physiological signs that will stop developing, for example: no menstruation, breast growth stops, hair does not grow... If 2 ovaries are removed. After puberty, when the body has developed, it will lose the phenomenon of menstruation every month.
However, if only one ovary is surgically removed, and the ovary on the opposite side is still able to function normally, the woman can still menstruate and develop normally or decline more than usual. little. Because the two ovaries work independently of each other, the preserved ovaries still have reproductive capacity and endocrine function.

2. Recovery after oophorectomy

Recovery after oophorectomy will depend on the patient's health and surgery method, usually about 6 weeks. During surgery, there is a risk of a lot of blood loss. This means that within a few weeks of surgery, you may develop an infection that causes fever or redness and pain near the surgical site.

3. Chances of getting pregnant after oophorectomy

The chance of conceiving after one ovary is removed is 50%. If both ovaries are removed, a woman will not be able to successfully conceive naturally, but can become pregnant through in vitro fertilization by asking for an egg.

4. Do you need to add estrogen after oophorectomy?

Estrogen is a female sex hormone that plays an extremely important role in the formation and regulation of the menstrual cycle, sexual development and female reproductive organs such as vagina, fallopian tubes, endometrium... and create secondary female characteristics such as clear voice, small shoulders, enlarged breasts and regulation of fat distribution to create a female figure.
In the female body, the substances estradiol, estrone and estriol are estrogens secreted by the ovaries and placenta. Currently, medicine has been able to synthesize the estrogens estrone and estriol to supplement when the body is deficient.
In the case of both oophorectomy, the body will lack estrogen leading to a phenomenon similar to menopause, it is called surgical induced menopause, so it is very necessary to supplement estrogens. However, this should be strictly followed as prescribed by the doctor. Because estrogen can cause some unwanted effects when used are: breast tenderness, nausea, headache, jaundice, cholestasis, hypercalcemia, weight gain, especially can cause endometrial cancer Bowel, breast cancer.

5. Does oophorectomy affect sexual ability?

The ovaries have the function of producing eggs and the endocrine function is to secrete hormones that help a woman develop sex and maintain sexual desire. The cells of the ovary will secrete 3 hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and androgen (common name for testosterone: male sex hormone).
In which, testosterone is the main factor that determines sexual desire for women and determines 50% of women's sexual life, the rest depends on health and "machine" status. Compared with men, women's testosterone levels are lower, but they are more sensitive to this hormone than men. Therefore, it cannot be said that women are less desirable than men.
The adrenal gland also secretes testosterone in women, it was found that after both ovaries are removed, testosterone levels in women do not decrease, but due to decreased estrogen levels, sexual desire also decreases. muscle loss of orgasm increases 3 times compared to people with normal ovaries of the same age
In the case of removal of 1 ovary, the remaining ovary can still function to compensate, without causing endocrine deficiency and without affecting to the sexual life of women.

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