Chronic pelvic pain after hysterectomy in a patient with depressive disorder: A case report

Abstract

Chronic pelvic pain, defi ned as a non-cyclic pain of at least 6 months duration, is severe enough to require medical care or to cause disability. For such reason, only physical approaches and managements of chronic pelvic pain sometimes fail. Depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can cause chronic pelvic pain and affects the course of pain management. This case is about chronic pelvic pain of 39-years-old unmarried woman with adenomyosis. She wanted to control her pelvic pain with medical treatments of adenomyosis, but finally decided to scarify uterus due to uncontrolled pain. Pshychosomatic symptoms were considered to cause the pain because her pain did not disappear even after hysterectomy. She was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. This case suggests that chronic pelvic pain patients always need psychological evaluation even if they have defi nite causes of pelvic pain in gynecological area.