Oophorectomy
Also called: ovary removal bone loss, ovariectomy
What it means
Oophorectomy is surgery to remove one or both ovaries, which causes an abrupt drop in estrogen if done before natural menopause, speeding up bone loss.
Removing both ovaries before natural menopause causes a sudden estrogen drop that can speed up bone loss, raising your fracture risk earlier in life.
Oophorectomy means surgical removal of one or both ovaries. When both ovaries are removed before natural menopause, estrogen levels drop suddenly rather than tapering gradually over several years, as happens with natural menopause. This abrupt loss of estrogen is called surgical menopause, and it can trigger faster bone loss than the usual menopause transition.
Estrogen helps keep bone-building and bone-breakdown in balance. Without it, the cells that break down bone (osteoclasts) become more active relative to the cells that build it, so bone density can drop more quickly, especially in the first few years after surgery. This is why oophorectomy performed before the typical age of menopause is treated as a distinct risk factor for bone loss, separate from natural aging.
Because the drop in estrogen is sudden and happens earlier than expected, doctors often consider hormone replacement for women who have ovaries removed before the average age of natural menopause, to help protect bone, heart, and brain health until that age is reached. Any decision about hormone therapy, timing, or alternatives belongs to you and your doctor, based on your full health picture. A bone density scan is often a reasonable part of follow-up care after this kind of surgery.
Removing both ovaries before menopause causes a sudden estrogen drop that speeds up bone loss.
Where this leads
WordWondering what this sudden hormone change is officially called? Surgical menopause explains how removing both ovaries triggers faster bone loss.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Related words
Surgical menopause is menopause caused by removing both ovaries, which stops estrogen production immediately instead…
Premature menopause is when periods stop before about age 45, due to primary ovarian insufficiency, ovary removal,…
Estrogen deficiency is a drop in estrogen levels — from menopause, ovary removal, or other causes — that speeds up…
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) replaces oestrogen, often with a progestin, after menopause and has been shown to…
Early menopause is when a woman's periods stop before age 45, earlier than the usual age range for menopause.
Hypogonadism is when the body produces too little estrogen or testosterone, which speeds up bone loss because these…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
