Hysterectomy in Spanish

What it means

A hysterectomy is surgery to remove the uterus (womb), the place where a fetus grows during pregnancy. After a hysterectomy, a person no longer has menstrual periods and can't become pregnant. Sometimes the surgery also removes the ovaries and fallopian tubes, and if both ovaries are taken out, menopause symptoms will usually begin. MedlinePlus describes three types: a total hysterectomy removes all of the uterus, including the cervix; a partial (subtotal or supracervical) hysterectomy removes just the upper part of the uterus and leaves the cervix in place; and a radical hysterectomy also removes tissue on both sides of the cervix and the upper part of the vagina. The surgery may be done through the vagina or through an incision in the abdomen.

Spanish term: Histerectomía
Gender and article: feminine: la histerectomía (plural: las histerectomías)
Pronunciation: ees-teh-rehk-toh-MEE-ah

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
extirpación del útero	General	Plain-language description ("removal of the uterus") that the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia lists among its alternative names.

Histerectomía is the term used by both MedlinePlus en español and the National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary, and it is feminine: una histerectomía, la histerectomía. The MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia lists extirpación del útero among its alternative names. The type names carry over directly: histerectomía total, histerectomía parcial (also called subtotal or supracervical) and histerectomía radical.

Words MedlinePlus en español uses with it: útero (uterus), cuello uterino (cervix), ovarios (ovaries), trompas de Falopio (fallopian tubes) and menopausia (menopause). The methods are histerectomía abdominal, histerectomía vaginal, histerectomía laparoscópica and cirugía robótica. MedlinePlus en español calls the operation una cirugía mayor, major surgery. For "to remove", its topic page uses extraer and remover, while its encyclopedia and the NCI dictionary use extirpar.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	One option we can discuss is a hysterectomy, which is surgery to remove the uterus.	Una opción de la que podemos hablar es una histerectomía, que es una cirugía para extraer el útero.
Patient	Would the surgery also remove my ovaries?	¿La cirugía también me quitaría los ovarios?
Patient	Is it a total or a partial hysterectomy?	¿Es una histerectomía total o parcial?
Clinician	After a hysterectomy you will no longer have menstrual periods.	Después de una histerectomía ya no tendrá períodos menstruales.
Patient	Will the surgery be done through the abdomen or through the vagina?	¿La cirugía se hará por el abdomen o por la vagina?
Patient	How long does recovery take, and when can I go back to work?	¿Cuánto dura la recuperación y cuándo puedo volver al trabajo?
Patient	I had a hysterectomy five years ago.	Me hicieron una histerectomía hace cinco años.
Clinician	Do you know if your cervix was removed during the hysterectomy?	¿Sabe si le extirparon el cuello uterino durante la histerectomía?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Hysterectomy
Spanish (Español)	Histerectomía
Chinese (中文)	子宮切除術
Korean (한국어)	자궁절제술
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Phẫu thuật cắt tử cung
Filipino (Tagalog)	Hysterectomy
Portuguese (Português)	Histerectomia
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	การผ่าตัดมดลูก
Japanese (日本語)	子宮摘出術

Where you'll see it

operative reportsurgical consent formEOBbilldischarge summary

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Reproductive health and pregnancy

All terms in this area: Reproductive health and pregnancy — Salud reproductiva y embarazo

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.