What should you know about a double hysterectomy?

A hysterectomy removes the womb. It may be total, including the cervix, or subtotal, leaving the cervix in place. The fallopian tubes and ovaries may or may not be removed during the same operation, and removing both ovaries is a separate procedure with consequences that need discussion. The phrase double hysterectomy may be an informal description of more than one procedure, surgery involving both sides, or simply a misunderstanding.

Hysterectomy can be considered for conditions such as [Uterine Fibroids](/conditions/uterine-fibroids/), [Adenomyosis](/conditions/adenomyosis/), [Endometriosis](/conditions/endometriosis/), [Endometrial Hyperplasia](/conditions/endometrial-hyperplasia/), or some womb and cervical cancers. The reason for surgery affects the extent, route, and alternatives.

Ask the surgeon to name every organ or structure included in the consent form, the surgical route, and whether the ovaries will remain. Discuss fertility, menopause symptoms, bladder and bowel effects, sexual wellbeing, and recovery support. You may need blood tests, imaging, or treatment for the underlying condition before surgery.

After surgery, follow wound and activity instructions, keep follow-up appointments, and avoid heavy lifting or vaginal sex until your team confirms healing. Seek clear advice about returning to work, driving, exercise, and medicines. A hysterectomy may stop periods and ends the ability to carry a pregnancy; ovarian removal can change hormone levels more abruptly.

After surgery, contact your team for fever, worsening pain, wound redness or discharge, difficulty passing urine, or increasing vaginal bleeding. Seek urgent help for heavy bleeding, chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, or a painful swollen leg. Before surgery, rapidly worsening pelvic pain or bleeding also deserves prompt assessment; [Heavy Periods](/symptoms/heavy-periods/) and [Pelvic Pain](/symptoms/pelvic-pain/) may need evaluation for their cause.

Ask what diagnosis is being treated, whether the cervix, tubes, or ovaries will be removed, and which alternatives remain. Ask about surgical route, expected recovery, hormone effects, fertility implications, pathology results, and warning signs after discharge.