What are the long-term effects of hysterectomy on the ovaries of normal women? Ninety-three women aged 29-44 years (median, 38 years) who had undergone hysterectomy for benign reasons 0.3-9.1 years prior to investigation, contributed urine samples twice weekly for a period of 53-149 days (median 102 days) for pregnanediol analysis. The interval between successive pregnanediol peaks and their increment over baseline were measured. The median peak interval was 27.3 days, and 93.3% of all intervals were of 21- to 35-days duration. Of the 337 peaks observed, 96.7% met the criteria previously used to define an ovulatory cycle. These are similar to the figures reported for menstruant women of comparable age. ANOVA showed no significant effect of age or time since hysterectomy on either the interval between peaks or peak increment (P > 0.10 in all cases). The evidence suggests that the ovaries of women who have no uterus behave like those of intact women.

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What is the prevalence of premenstrual tension (PMT) among women who have no uterus? Three hundred and seventeen hysterectomized women aged 28-45 years, were asked to describe their health before and after surgery. Most of the women (88%) felt that their general health improved postoperatively. There was a significant reduction in the percentage of women reporting moderate to severe PMT in all or almost all cycles: pre- versus post-hysterectomy, 56.1 versus 18.9; p < 0.001. Of the 178 women who considered PMT to have been a regular feature of their prehysterectomy menstrual cycles, 73% either lost their symptoms after surgery or felt that they were now minimal. It is concluded that the prevalence of PMT among hysterectomized women is low compared with that among women who have a uterus.