Uterus absent

Resolved question:

My neighbour recently had an ultrasound for a check on her kidneys. The radiologist informed her that they could not locate her uterus or ovaries. She is in her early 70s and had surgery last year for a broken hip and pelvis. Is it possible her uterus shrunk to the point of not being detectable by ultrasound? She is concerned that it may have been removed while in surgery. Could a pelvic/hip fracture require removal of a uterus?

Submitted: 4 Days
Category: Internal Medicine Specialist

Expert:  Dr. Steve Merris replied 4 Days.

Hello,

Thank you for asking the query:

The uterus might shrink a little bit in post-menopausal state, but it will never shrink to an extent that it is not detectable.  And regarding the surgery, a surgery for isolated pelvic or hip fracture will not require removal of uterus or ovaries. A rare possibility is that if the surgery was for done for a major pelvic trauma (like in a major road traffic accident) then the uterus might have been removed. But then the Surgeon would have you informed it for sure.

One important thing is that – the Radiologist informed her that he/she could not locate the uterus. This has to be clarified, as in certain circumstances the uterus might not be visible enough. Since the scan was done for Kidneys, the Radiologist might not have ‘dig’ deep enough to look for the uterus.

If possible I would like to know whether the lady in question has conceved and given birth to children and had a regular menstrual cycle.

Thank you. Please feel free to ask followup questions via this email itself.

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