Washington, April 13 (Inditop.com) Most women facing gynaecologic surgery don’t worry about its effects on their sex lives, a new study says.
However, only 37 percent of women planning to be sterilised did voice concern that they might have less sexual desire after the operation – even though that surgery does not affect hormone levels.
Among those in the study who were having reproductive organs surgically removed, fewer than 15 percent expressed concerns about sex.
Women scheduled for ovary removal were more likely to expect to lose sexual desire and enjoy sex less after surgery than were women scheduled for hysterectomies.
“Most women were not very concerned, and among any women who do have these worries, I think we can reassure them that they don’t necessarily have to fear a detriment to sexual function,” said senior study author Jonathan Schaffir.
Schaffir is clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Ohio State University (OSU) and senior author of the study.
“Some women who have their ovaries removed might have a decrease in hormone levels and might have a problem but that is certainly not the rule,” he added.
Ovary removal leads to menopause in women, which can be characterised by such symptoms as hot flashes, night sweats, sleeping difficulties, irritability and vaginal dryness, as well as the possibility of reduced interest in sex, Schaffir said.
He added that doctors can offer remedies, especially a variety of therapies to replace lost estrogen, for most of those symptoms.
Hysterectomy – removal of the uterus – and sterilisation through less invasive methods do not affect hormone levels.
Schaffir and colleagues collected data over six months from women admitted for benign gynecologic surgeries at OSU Medical Centre.
During that time, 150 women were admitted for eligible surgeries, and 75 women completed the surveys, said an OSU release.
Demographically, the women were not all that different, except in age. Patients undergoing sterilisation were significantly younger than those having their ovaries or uteruses removed, and women undergoing oophorectomy – ovary removal – were generally older than those having a hysterectomy.
Between 68 percent and 74 percent of the women reported that they were sexually active.
The findings have been published in a recent issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine.
