Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

RANZCOG Hysterectomy Patient Information - RANZCOG (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) is the college responsible for training and accreditation of gynaecologists in Aotearoa; they have released this information pack about hysterectomy, which includes an outline of what the procedure involves, the risks and information about recovery.

RCOG Recovering well from Laparoscopic Hysterectomy - RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) is the college responsible for training and accreditation of gynaecologists in the United Kingdom; they have released this detailed information pack about recovery from laparoscopic hysterectomy.

• You will be contacted by the hospital to let you know what time to arrive at the hospital

• You will need to be fasted, so can't have anything to eat for at least 6 hours before the operation; the hospital will give you instructions on what time to stop eating and when to stop drinking water

• You can usually continue any medications as usual, except for blood thinning medications (e.g. warfarin, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, clexane) the team will let you know in advance if any of your medications need to be changed

• Try to optimise your sleep and diet leading into surgery, this can help your recovery

Fallopian Tubes

We always recommend removal of the Fallopian tubes with the uterus, in line with international recommendations. This is because most ovarian cancer is thought to arise in the Fallopian tubes, and removing them reduces your risk of ovarian cancer by around two thirds (the background risk of ovarian cancer for any woman is around one in seventy).

Ovaries

Recommendations around removal of the ovaries at the time of hysterectomy has changed a few times over the year. Your individual circumstances and preferences will be the most important factors, and the recommendation will depend on the reason for surgery. As a general rule we would recommend not removing the ovaries if you are under the age of 50 (as this will cause "surgical menopause" which carries risks for your bones, heart and general health), removing them if you are over the age of 65. If you are between 50 and 65 it is less clear as to how important the level of hormones from the ovaries is, and the we recommend a discussion as to the risks and benefits.