Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is a condition that leads to chronic pain in the pelvic region of women for over 6 months. This pain is generally unrelated to menstrual cycles, pelvic operations, pregnancy, or local trauma. There can be different causes for chronic pelvic pain and it requires dedicated medical treatment. 

Chronic pelvic pain hysterectomy is a common medical treatment offered for women suffering from pelvic pain for a prolonged period. Let’s learn more about hysterectomy for pelvic pain relief, and why it’s one of the best pelvic pain surgery options. We will also be discussing if surgical treatment for pelvic pain is necessary or not.

Hysterectomy And Chronic Pain Management

Hysterectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures used for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain. Reports have shown that as much as 90% of women get complete pelvic pain relief after a hysterectomy. Given hysterectomy is a complicated procedure, it has certain risks, but in certain cases, hysterectomy becomes one of the best options for chronic pelvic pain. Let’s review the different scenarios where a hysterectomy is recommended to patients with chronic pelvic pain.

Medical Treatment Failure: Before a patient is recommended to go through with a hysterectomy, they are offered medical treatment using different types of medications and other non-invasive treatments. In case if the treatments fail, doctors can recommend the patient to go through with a hysterectomy. However, there are other factors that need to be confirmed by the patient's doctors both, before a hysterectomy is performed for chronic pelvic pain. This includes, if the patient ever wants to have kids or not, if the condition has any ties to the patient’s gynecological health.

Related To Gynecological Issues: If the chronic pelvic pain is associated with any known gynecological conditions such as endometriosis or uterine fibroids, and the condition is not responding to medical treatment, doctors may recommend you to get a hysterectomy to treat the underlying problem.

Pain Severity: If the pain is very severe and it affects the quality of life of the person suffering, doctors may recommend them to get a hysterectomy. However, before the recommendation doctors generally try out different medical treatments, and if they fail, a hysterectomy becomes one of the only options remaining to treat the condition.

In certain cases, the presence of cancer is also a deciding factor for doctors to recommend getting a hysterectomy.

How Safe Is Hysterectomy?

Hysterectomy has its risks but in the hands of experienced surgeons and a good care provider like MASSH, the risks associated with hysterectomy can be mitigated. At MASSH, we provide the best laparoscopic and minimally invasive hysterectomy procedure that is safer and less risky compared to any other types of hysterectomy. However, even as a minimally invasive procedure, since hysterectomies are quite aggressive, certain risks remain. Let’s review them below.

• Light vaginal bleeding for a few weeks
• Postoperative pain
• Bleeding during the procedure
• Low energy levels post-surgery up to 2 weeks
• Early menopause onset due to the procedure

These risks need to be understood and discussed with your doctors before you go through with a hysterectomy. With minimally invasive procedures, the recovery time is cut short extensively, however, there’s still a set process on how recovery works.

Hysterectomy Recovery For Chronic Pelvic Pain

Now that you know about hysterectomy and chronic pain management, let’s review the recovery timeline and steps for chronic pelvic hysterectomy. 

Minimally invasive hysterectomy recovery generally takes less time compared to open surgery. Patients require only a day or two of hospital stay for this procedure and the postoperative pain is much lower comparatively. Patients can also get back to their normal lifestyle as early as six weeks after the procedure. Even though the recovery timeline can vary from patient to patient, minimally invasive hysterectomy is still one of the best types of hysterectomy to opt for chronic pelvic pain. Let’s take a look at the various recovery instructions best suited to help you recover after the surgery.

• You need to stay away from strenuous physical activity for up to six weeks after the procedure
• Doctors may advise you to pause sexual activity for a brief period after the procedure until it is safe
• Medications need to be taken in a timely manner to help with the surgery pain after the procedure
• Doctors will recommend you to opt for regular checkups to assess your recovery and ensure you are safe from any postoperative risks

Conclusion

A hysterectomy for chronic pelvic pain is often a last resort in terms of medical treatment, so it is essential that you get a thorough diagnosis and a good understanding of your condition before opting for it. If you want an experienced second opinion for your pelvic pain, feel free to visit us at MASSH. We offer functional medicative treatments that have the potential to control your pain and its symptoms without invasive procedures. And even if invasive procedures are required, we are the absolute best at performing laparoscopic hysterectomy surgery that allows you to go through the procedure with minimal risks. Visit us today or check out our website to learn more about chronic pelvic pain treatment at MASSH.