Lena Dunham has revealed she underwent a total hysterectomy to remove her uterus and cervix after enduring years of endometriosis-related pain.
The actress, 31, revealed she had the procedure in the March issue of Vogue.
Lena Dunham has revealed in the new issue of Vogue that she has had her uterus and cervix removed in a bid to end her pain caused by endometriosis
She said her decision came after ‘years of complex surgeries measuring in the double digits’.
Doctors discovered she had other medical issues that were causing her pain during the procedure.
‘In addition to endometrial disease, an odd hump-like protrusion and a septum running down the middle, I have retrograde bleeding, a.k.a. my period running in reverse so that my stomach is full of blood,’ she wrote.
‘My ovary has settled in on the muscles around the sacral nerves in my back that allow us to walk. Let’s please not even talk about my uterine lining. The only beautiful detail is that the organ — which is meant to be shaped like a light bulb — was shaped like a heart.’
Dunham, who recently split from boyfriend Jack Antonoff after five years together, can no longer carry a child, but she is now keen to explore her options for motherhood.
Battle: The 31-year-old actress is pictured out in West Hollywood last month
‘I may have felt choiceless before, but I know I have choices now,’ she says.
‘Soon I’ll start exploring whether my ovaries, which remain someplace inside me in that vast cavern of organs and scar tissue, have eggs. Adoption is a thrilling truth I’ll pursue with all my might.’
The HBO star has been very open about her struggles with the endometriosis, a disorder which causes tissue that normally lines the uterus to grow outside of it.
Last April, in a Lenny letter Lena revealed that she was endometriosis-free after undergoing several surgical procedures.
‘My surgery went off without a hitch,’ she explained. ‘When I emerged, cotton-mouthed, [Dr. Randy Harris] told me something I hadn’t expected to hear, maybe ever: there was no endometriosis left. Between my surgeries and hormonal intervention, I was disease-free.’
She added: ‘That doesn’t mean it can never return, but for now, once my sutures have been removed and my bruises have changed from blue to yellow to green to gone, I will be healthy.’
But unfortunately it did return, as in May 2017 Lena was forced to leave the New York Met Gala early because of the excruciating pain caused by the disorder.
In September the actress revealed she was feeling better again after her latest surgery to move her ovaries away from her rectal wall.