Study, 1990
Does removing the ovaries and uterus cure severe PMS?
Yes. In this group of 14 women with severe, treatment-resistant PMS, all symptoms disappeared after surgery with continuous estrogen replacement. However, this is major surgery appropriate only for women with severe, debilitating symptoms who have failed other treatments.
What they did
14 women with severe PMS that had not improved with previous medical treatments had their ovaries and uterus removed and then took continuous estrogen replacement. Doctors tracked their symptoms and psychological well-being before surgery and 6 months after.
What they found
Before surgery, all women had clearly cyclic symptoms and psychological scores showing major disruption of their lives. Six months after surgery, the cyclic pattern of symptoms completely disappeared and scores matched a normal population. Psychological measures showed dramatic improvement in mood, general well-being, life satisfaction, and overall quality of life.
What it means for you
Surgery eliminates severe PMS symptoms only in women who failed all other treatments. Appropriate only for women who completed their families with very severe symptoms. The study is very small (14 women) with no control group, so we cannot compare it to other intensive treatments.
14
women in the study
6 months
time after surgery when symptoms were measured
About the study
- Original title
- The effect of hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy in women with severe premenstrual syndrome
- Authors
- Casper RF, Hearn MT
- Journal
- American journal of obstetrics and gynecology
- Year
- 1990
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- Hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy with continuous estrogen replacement
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0002-9378(90)90831-q
Topics
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