Women Report Better Quality of Life After Hysterectomy or Myomectomy for Uterine Fibroid Removal

All women with uterine fibroids who had a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) or a myomectomy (removal of the fibroids only) reported improved quality of life one year later, an AHRQ-funded study found. Fibroids, noncancerous growths on the uterine wall, occur in as many as 80 percent of reproductive-age women and cause pain, bleeding, and urinary and sexual problems. However, the improvement was greater for women who had a hysterectomy; they reported a greater reduction in their symptoms than women who had a myomectomy. The study, which analyzed questionnaires completed by 1,113 premenopausal women enrolled in a uterine fibroid registry, was one of the largest to compare quality of life for the two procedures, although it didn’t include patient motivations for choosing either procedure. Access the abstract of the study published in Fertility and Sterility.