Rewriting hystery. (Hot Flashes).

A new study by The Ontario Women's Health Council says that Canadian women too frequently undergo hysterectomy (the surgical removal of the uterus) for benign uterine conditions when other, less-invasive methods of treatment are available, effective and have fewer long-term health consequences.

The Council's report, entitled, Achieving Best Practices in the Use of Hysterectomy, notes that hysterectomy is one of the most common forms of surgery performed on Canadian women, and that the rate for hysterectomy in Canada is double that of Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway. Drawing from a 1998-99 National Population Health Survey, the researchers state that 22% of Canadian women over 35 years of age have undergone a hysterectomy--totaling more than 1.8 million women.

Researchers conclude that hysterectomy is too frequently used as a first line of treatment for non-cancerous conditions, such as fibroids and heavy menstrual periods, and that women are not informed about other possible medical and surgical methods. The report also notes that there are too few health care practitioners trained in these other surgical therapies, such as uterine artery embolization, myomectomy and ablation therapy, and that rural and remote women, in particular, do not have access to the most current medical techniques. www.womenshelthcouncil.on.ca