HEALTH FIRST PODCAST: Putting Your Health First' with Gynecologist Scott Bovelsky, MD
CLICK HERE to hear ‘Putting Your Health First’ with Gynecologist Scott Bovelsky, MD.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Hysterectomies, the removal of a woman’s cervix and uterus, may be the most common gynecological surgery in the nation, and with new laparoscopic and robotic surgeries, they’re low risk. That’s not the same as no risk.
The reason a woman and her physician would consider a hysterectomy is typically heavy blood loss.
A gynecologist might work up a patient history, do a physical exam, and order blood work. Health First Gynecologist Scott Bovelsky, MD, says he orders pelvic ultrasounds and, depending on a woman’s age, an endometrial biopsy since rarely, but not impossibly, blood loss may be a sign of cancer.
“Once we get all that information together, we can then make an educated decision about how we can deal with heavy bleeding,” he said.
Medical management of the issue may be called for if conditions are not severe. Another alternative is a minimally invasive surgical procedure called an endometrial ablation that reduces blood loss by destroying some of the tissue that causes the bleeding.
“If a woman is a candidate for these, they are easier, have a quicker recovery, and are less risky procedures that should be tried first.”
But in some cases, a hysterectomy is the surest solution to end heavy bleeding. This is true, Dr. Bovelsky said, of something called a caesarian hysterectomy, or hysterectomy right after birth, although for different reasons. Here, a woman’s uterus has not properly contracted following childbirth, and the bleeding can become life threatening. (These are rare.)
In the past, successful hysterectomies were “open surgeries” requiring many sutures and long recoveries. Dr. Bovelsky’s procedures today are outpatient, and with the benefit of robotics, they are particularly low risk – patients go home the same day.
“If you have a desk job, you’re back to work in two weeks. If you’re working from home, you’re going to be doing probably limited work in the next couple of days,” he said.
For those with physical jobs, it’s six weeks.
The biggest misperception Dr. Bovelsky encounters is the belief that a hysterectomy will trigger menopause and estrogen deficiency.
“All of the female hormones are developed out of the ovaries. The current recommendation is if you’re under 50, and you’re having a hysterectomy, to leave the ovaries.
And so that means you go through menopause at the normal time.”
That’s important because female hormones do a lot of beneficial things for heart health and bones, and one of the dangers for post-menopausal women is osteoporosis and hip fractures.
“You want to get women’s bones as strong as possible, and that is accomplished through estrogen.”
A hysterectomy is low risk, but there is some risk of bleeding or infection. Around the uterus, too, are the bowels, the bladder, the ureter, arteries and veins, so there’s proximal risk of injury. It’s important patients inquire about their surgeon’s credentials.
“It is very important for patients to ask how experienced their surgeon is. I will tell you in 20 years I have been asked if I was board certified maybe five times.
I’ve also almost never been asked how many of these surgeries have I done.”
“Make sure your doctor sits down and talks to you, explains all of your options. You ask the questions that you want to ask. Don’t ever feel rushed, and make sure you find out how experienced they are. I think that’s a really big issue that’s not addressed.”
CLICK HERE to hear ‘Putting Your Health First’ with Gynecologist Scott Bovelsky, MD.
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The post PUTTING YOUR HEATH FIRST: Health First Surgeon Dr. Scott Bovelsky Says Hysterectomies Are Common, But ‘Last Resort’ appeared first on Space Coast Daily.