An investigation into the psychological effects of hysterectomy

The major aim of the present study was to determine whether women exposed to a hysterectomy procedure showed any greater evidence of postsurgery mood disorder than a cholecystectomy control group. In addition, the investigation also considered whether sterilization by hysterectomy resulted in more frequent mood disturbance than in tubal ligation where the uterus remains undisturbed. Fifty-five hysterectomy patients were compared with 38 cholecystectomy and 60 tubal ligation patients by means of the Profile of Mood States. Presurgery, 6-weeks postsurgery, and 3-months postsurgery measures were obtained. No evidence was found to support the view that the special psychological significance of the uterus results in greater postsurgery mood disturbance than occurs with a control procedure such a cholecystectomy. Neither did the results suggest that sterilization involving organ removal was psychologically more traumatic than where the sterilization procedure left the uterus undisturbed. The two significant group X occasion interactions implied that the groups differed in their pattern of responding to surgery with respect to the Tension-Anxiety and the Fatigue-Inertia variables.