I am going in to have a hysterectomy. One of my problems is mittelschmerz -- pain in the middle of the month, at ovulation. If only my uterus is going to be removed, won't I still have this pain, because I'll still be ovulating?

Bertha

You probably will continue to have mittelschmerz. Removal of the uterus will not prevent ovulation, and the stretching of the surface of the ovary with ovulation is what causes mittelschmerz. The pain associated with mittelschmerz is usually sharp, but it only lasts for a very short period of time. Severe pain, or pain that lasts for days, is not mittelschmerz.

Sometimes scar tissue around the ovaries can contribute to this pain, and if this scar tissue is removed at the time of a hysterectomy, midcycle pain may improve. Endometriosis is another cause of more severe pain, often beginning midcycle and escalating with menstruation. Again, simply removing the uterus will not completely alleviate this pain, but endometriosis can be treated separately.