Salpingo-oophorectomy

A salpingo-oophorectomy is the removal of an ovary and its fallopian tube.^[1][2] As a risk-reducing surgery, this procedure is the most effective form of prevention in women carrying gene mutations which put them at higher risk of developing ovarian cancer, such as a BRCA mutation.^[3] It is particularly important in mutations of the normally tumor suppressing BRCA1 gene, or, with a statistically lower negative impact, in those of the tumour suppressing BRCA2 gene, which can increase the risk of developing ovarian cancer to as high as 65% and 25%, respectively.^[4]

In a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) both ovaries are removed, leading to a surgical menopause, as the body is deprived of estrogen, a hormone normally produced in the ovaries. Hormone replacement therapy is generally recommended after BSO, unless there is a history of triple-negative breast cancer.^[5]