Many women with pelvic prolapse prefer to keep uterus

(HealthDay)—More women may prefer uterine preservation to hysterectomy for the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse symptoms, according to research published in the November issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

In an effort to assess patient preferences for uterine preservation versus hysterectomy, Nicole B. Korbly, M.D., of Brown University in Providence, R.I., and colleagues conducted a multicenter, cross-sectional study of 213 women receiving an initial urogynecologic evaluation for prolapse symptoms.

The researchers found that, if outcomes were equal for the two treatments, patient preferences were, in descending order, no strong preference (44 percent), uterine preservation (36 percent), and hysterectomy (20 percent). If uterine preservation was superior, women preferred uterine preservation (46 percent) and hysterectomy (11 percent). If hysterectomy was superior, 21 percent of women still preferred uterine preservation. Women were more likely to prefer uterine preservation if they believed that the uterus was important for their sense of self (odds ratio [OR], 28.2) or had at least some college education (OR, 2.87). Women in the South were less likely than women in the Northeast to prefer uterine preservation (OR, 0.17).

"A higher proportion of women with prolapse symptoms who were examined for urogynecologic evaluation preferred uterine preservation, compared with hysterectomy," the authors write.