Orgasm after vaginal hysterectomy

If you need to have a hysterectomy, you might be concerned about how the procedure can affect your sex life. These are the top three questions I'm most asked by my patients about sex after a hysterectomy. And, you may be pleasantly surprised by the answers. It takes 6 to 8 weeks for a woman to completely heal after surgery. Women experience some discomfort during the healing process.

The uterus is a hormone responsive reproductive sex organ with important lifelong functions. Hysterectomy, the surgical removal of the uterus, causes many well documented, irreversible, life altering adverse effects. Women who experienced uterine orgasm before hysterectomy will not experience it after the surgery because the muscular uterine contractions that occur during uterine orgasm cannot occur without a uterus. The vagina is shortened during a hysterectomy and made into a closed pocket that is sutured shut at the top of the vagina, which causes a loss of the natural elasticity of the vaginal tissue. Some women are no longer able to have intercourse because their vaginas were made so short that it has become physically impossible.

This section reviews some of the more common types of surgery used to treat certain cancers and the ways they can impact your sex life. Radical hysterectomy is an operation done to treat some cancers of the cervix. The surgeon takes out the uterus and the ligaments tissue fibers that hold it in place. The cervix and an inch or 2 of the vagina around the cervix are also removed.

A hysterectomy can relieve painful symptoms from fibroids, abnormal periods, or cancer. This includes the ability to have future orgasms. In short, research says a hysterectomy is unlikely to impair sexual function. However, your sexual response after the surgery will depend on what nerves and organs are affected during the surgery and what regions previously provided you sexual stimulation.