A landmark study led by William Parker, MD, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Saint John’s Health Center and adjunct faculty member at John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John's, has raised serious questions about the long-term survival benefits of removing a woman’s ovaries during routine hysterectomy. 

The study, published in the May 2009 edition of Obstetrics and Gynecology, reviewed outcomes of women with benign (noncancerous) reproductive disease who were given a hysterectomy with either bilateral oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries) or ovarian conservation (leaving the ovaries intact).  Results showed that removing the ovaries greatly increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.  These findings challenge a medical practice that has been standard in women’s health for 30 years.