Table of Contents
- Overview
- Risks
- Recovery
- Prevention
- Images
- You will usually be asked not to drink or eat anything for 8 hours before the surgery.
- Take any medicines your doctor told you to take with a small sip of water.
- Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to arrive at the hospital.
After the Procedure
After surgery, you will be given pain medicines to relieve any discomfort.
You may also have a tube, called a catheter, inserted into your bladder for 1 to 2 days to pass urine.
You will be asked to get up and move around as soon as possible after surgery. This helps prevent
You will be asked to get up to use the bathroom as soon as you are able. You may return to a normal diet as soon as you can without causing nausea or vomiting.
How long you stay in the hospital depends on the type of hysterectomy. If you have a robot-assisted hysterectomy, you will likely go home the next day. Other times, most women who have a hysterectomy stay in the hospital 2 to 3 days. The hospital stay may be longer if the hysterectomy is done because of cancer.
Outlook (Prognosis)
How long it takes you to recover depends on the type of hysterectomy. Recovery may take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks. Average recovery times are:
- Abdominal hysterectomy: 4 - 6 weeks
- Vaginal hysterectomy: 3 - 4 weeks
- Robot-assisted hysterectomy: 2 - 4 weeks
A hysterectomy will cause menopause if you also have your ovaries removed. Removal of the ovaries can also lead to a decreased sex drive. Your doctor may recommend
Review Date: 02/28/2011
Reviewed By: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Susan
Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue,
Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and
Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
