TOWSON, Md. — GBMC doctors have been implementing a new preventative step that can be instrumental in helping to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.
GBMC using new procedure to reduce risk of ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in women, with 1 in 71 women expected to develop ovarian cancer in their lifetime.
With that in mind, GBMC doctors have started attacking the problem from a different direction.
Dr. Shauna Costinett, general and bariatric surgeon, explained the operation.
“Any time a woman is offered a surgery that’s in their abdomen, starting about it a year ago, we started offering them the opportunity to have their fallopian tubes removed at the same time as another surgery to decrease their risk of ovarian cancer," Dr. Costinett said.
The procedure is offered for women who are done having children.
Constinett told WMAR-2 News that the operation helps decrease the risk of ovarian cancer significantly.
“Over the last 20 years or so there has been a significant amount of research that ovarian cancer starts in women’s fallopian tubes and that by removing their fallopian tubes, we can decrease their risk of ovarian cancer by up to 80%.”
She said over the past year they've had over 20 women express interest.
“Some women are very interested and excited about it. Some women are a little hesitant or they don’t quite understand.”
But why not just remove the ovaries?
Costinett explained doing that increases the risk of heart disease, bone loss, and dementia, while removing the tubes has no effect on hormones, menopause, or bone density.
“We think it’s a really exciting development in women’s health, and we’re really excited about offering this to our patients here.”
