Brief Answer: Hormonal imbalance Detailed Answer: I see Endometriosis in your medical history. Is the OBGYN performing surgery in connection with that? Is the doctor planning to remove the uterus because there is 'endometrium-like tissue' growing around the uterus? Are you implying that the doctor also plans to remove both ovaries? Is it that the doctor recommends removing both ovaries but your wife wishes to keep one? Or is it the other way around i.e. your doctor does not wish to remove either ovary but your wife wants to get the one with the cyst out? In general, let me advise you some important and pertinent facts about ovaries and estrogen: Ovaries in normal health, produce balanced amounts of estrogen. There are only a couple instances where they over produce hormones. One broad category is PCOS (Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome) and the other is hormone-producing tumors of the ovary.The former is typically associated with excessive male hormones and the latter with female hormone excess The only other hormonal imbalance related to the ovary is that of menopause in which the ovaries stop making estrogen. This can happen naturally at an average age of 52 in women, or it can be a result of various conditions like surgical removal of the ovaries, radiation, chemotherapy etc OBGYN are generally well qualified in making these determinations. And so if your OBGYN doctor opines that you have a condition that requires removal of the ovary or both ovaries to cure a problem, then it is obviously necessary

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Brief Answer: Ovaries Detailed Answer: Well, now that you mention she has not had regular periods in a while, one needs to ascertain if her ovaries are functioning normally at the present time. If they are functioning normally, then she should not be having such irregularity in her menstrual cycle. Blood tests for hCG, FSH, TSH and Prolactin will give some idea as to whether she has other endocrine conditions causing this menstrual disturbance or if she is approaching early menopausal transition. If the latter is the case, then her ovaries are already not producing enough estrogen. Removing one or both in this instance will matter little because menopause will likely occur soon anyway. However, if the hormone tests suggest that menopausal changes have not yet begun, and other endocrine problems are ruled out then you need to have a detailed discussion with your OBGYN as to what are the chances of one ovary being sufficient to sustain estrogen production to prevent menopausal transition from occurring earlier than normal ( ie at around 48). This discussion will entail joint decision making in close liaison with your doctor. I suggest you work closely with your OBGYN and weigh pros and cons before surgery

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