Objective Assessment Of Sexual Arousal In Women With A History Of Hysterectomy
Abstract
Objective The potential contribution of psychological and anatomical changes to sexual dysfunction following hysterectomy is not clear. Radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer causes surgical damage to the autonomic nerves which are responsible for the increased vaginal blood flow during sexual arousal. Simple hysterectomy causes more limited nerve disruption. Photoplethysmographic assessment of vaginal pulse amplitude objectively measures vaginal blood flow during sexual arousal. We hypothesised that damage of the autonomic nerves results in a disrupted vaginal blood flow response during sexual stimulation.
Design Between-groups comparison of vaginal pulse amplitude.
Setting University hospital.
Sample Twelve women with a history of radical hysterectomy, 12 women with a history of simple abdomonal hysterectomy and 17 aged-matched controls.
Methods Photoplethysmographic assessment of vaginal pulse amplitude during sexual stimulation by erotic films. Self-reported ratings of subjective sexual arousal were collected after each erotic stimulus condition...