The fate of ovaries preserved at the time of hysterectomy

Abstract

This reports the cytologic and clinical observations of 207 patients who underwent hysterectomy with or without removal of the ovaries. The incidence of pathologic changes in the retained ovaries was low, the incidence of postoperative menopausal symptoms was higher among patients in whom both ovaries were removed at the time of hysterectomy than among patients who had ovarian tissue preserved. The age of 45 did not appear to be a realistic dividing line for the decision to remove healthy ovarian tissue because ovarian function was not found to cease at this age. Evaluation of vaginal exfoliative cytology showed ovulation occurring in one woman 21 years after hysterectomy with unilateral oophorectomy. No correlation was found between menopausal symptoms and the actual hormonal status of the patients as evaluated by vaginal cytology. A plea is made for individual evaluation of vaginal cytology rather than oversimplification of the method.