Surgeons in London are trialling two-in-one operations for the first time, in which patients who had a caesarean section also underwent surgery to reduce their risk of ovarian cancer.
Georgeta Badea: During the cesarean operation, it is good not to do another operation PHOTO Shutterstock
At a hospital in London, four women were operated on in this way, and the operations, which went well, were documented by the surgeons, according to the BBC.
However, the decision is not an easy one to make, because the removal of the ovaries, a preventive measure of ovarian cancer, also means an early menopause for women. Also, performing the surgery at the time of birth carries a greater risk because the physical changes during pregnancy can cause more blood loss.
But in this way, women can avoid a new standard surgery to reduce the risk of cancer. For this, doctors remove the fallopian tubes and ovaries, which is a separate procedure.
Ovarian cancer, discovered too late
Ovarian cancer is diagnosed, in most cases, late, so prevention is very important.
This disease is the 8th most common cancer in women. With over 313,000 new cases in 2020, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death in women.
In our country, in 2020, 1,909 new cases of ovarian cancer and 1,121 deaths caused by this pathology were reported.
The disease shows no symptoms in the early stage, therefore the annual gynecological consultation is mandatory.
Among the risk factors for this disease are age, 8 out of 10 women with this diagnosis are over 50, endometriosis and family history.
“It's not medically correct”
Gynecologist Georgeta Badea believes that these operations are not a good idea. The doctor says that “removing the ovaries and leaving the uterus is not medically correct. Because a uterus without ovaries doesn't really make sense. A woman without ovaries will never be able to get pregnant again, except with fertilizations, with artificial things“.
The doctor says that women who inherit one of the genes that can cause breast or ovarian cancer should have more frequent investigations and follow their progress, in order to prevent the appearance of such a disease. If a normal woman should go for a gynecological check-up once a year, women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer should go for a check-up once every 6 months and have a transvaginal ultrasound to check the ovaries. Moreover, they can do tumor markers, blood tests for various oncological conditions, according to the recommendations of the gynecologist.
The doctor also exposes the disadvantages of such a decision: early menopause, faster aging, osteoporosis and all the symptoms associated with menopause, but also the inability to have children. Moreover, Georgeta Badea says that “during the cesarean operation it is good not to do another operation“.
