Oophorectomy Oophorectomy Oophorectomy (from Greek , , 'egg-bearing' + , , 'a cutting out of') is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term is mostly used in reference to animals, e.g. the surgical removal of ovaries from laboratory animals. Removal of the ovaries of females is the biological equivalent of castration of males; the term "castration" is only occasionally used in the medical literature to refer to oophorectomy of women. In veterinary medicine, the removal of ovaries and uterus is called ovariohysterectomy (spaying) and is a form of sterilization. Partial oophorectomy
Oophorectomy Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830), a surgeon from Danville, Kentucky. McDowell was dubbed as the "father of ovariotomy". It later became known as Battey's Operation, after Robert Battey, a surgeon from Augusta, Georgia, who championed the procedure for a variety of conditions, most successfully for ovarian epilepsy. Most bilateral oophorectomies (63%) are performed without any medical indication, most (87%) were performed together with a hysterectomy. Conversely, unilateral oophorectomy is commonly performed for a medical indication (73%; cyst, endometriosis, benign tumor, inflammation, etc.) and less commonly in conjunction with hysterectomy (61%). Special indications include several groups of women with substantially increased risk of