The effect of surgical menopause after bilateral oophorectomy on hormonal changes, mucociliary clearance, and quality of life

Purpose The removal of the ovaries for any reason causes surgical menopause. Hormonal changes that occur progressively over 5-10 years in natural menopause occur acutely in surgical menopause. Signs of estrogen deficiency appear suddenly and are permanent after this surgery. This study investigated the short- and long-term effects of estrogen deficiency occurring after surgical menopause on both nasal mucociliary activity and sinonasal symptoms. Methods This prospective study included women aged 20-45 years who were not in the menopause, who had a planned bilateral oophorectomy and who attended the Gynecology Clinic at the Faculty of Medicine at a university hospital between January 2018 and December 2019. The nasal mucociliary clearance time, and blood Estradiol (E2) and FSH levels were measured once in the preoperative period, and at the postoperative 3rd, 6th, 9(th), and 12th months. At the same times, the Sinonasal Outcome Test 22 (SNOT-22) was also applied. Results The average age of the 47 patients was 41.2 +/- 2.7. The mean serum estradiol levels of the women were 164.7 +/- 63.4 pg/ml in the preoperative period, 14.8 +/- 3.7 pg/ml at the postoperative 3rd month, 12.5 +/- 3.5 pg/ml at the postoperative 6th month, 11.6 +/- 3.0 pg/ml at the postoperative 9th month, and 11.1 +/- 2.7 pg/ml at the postoperative 12th month. The mean FSH levels of the women were 9.4 +/- 2.4 mIU/ml in the preoperative period, 60.5 +/- 9.6 mIU/ml at the postoperative 3rd month, 61.9 +/- 9.4 mIU/ml at the postoperative 6th month, 63.0 +/- 9.3 mIU/ml at the postoperative 9th month, and 64.6 +/- 8.7 mIU/ml at the postoperative 12th month. The changes in postoperative mean estradiol and FSH levels over a year were significant and consistent with menopausal symptoms (p < 0.001). The mean mucociliary clearance times were 12.6 +/- 1.2 before menopause, 13.2 +/- 1.7 at the postoperative 3rd month, 14.5 +/- 1.7 at the postoperative 6th month, 17.5 +/- 1.6 at the postoperative 9th month, and 19.4 +/- 1.9 at the postoperative 12th month. The extension of the mean mucociliary clearance time over 1 year was significant (p < 0.001). The mean scores for the SNOT-22 were 17.3 +/- 6.9 before the operation, 17.8 +/- 6.0 at the postoperative 3rd month, 19.6 +/- 6.9 at the postoperative 6th month, 23.4 +/- 10.4 at the postoperative 9th month, and 36.1 +/- 10.0 at the postoperative 12th month. The mean scores for rhinologic symptoms were 5.2 +/- 1.9 (3-11) in the preoperative period, 5.7 +/- 2.0 (3-12) at the postoperative 3rd month, 7.1 +/- 2.3 (4-14) at the postoperative 6th month, 9.3 +/- 3.3 (4-16) at the postoperative 9th month, and 11.9 +/- 3.3 (6-18) at the postoperative 12th month. The 1-year change in the SNOT-22 scores was found to be significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion After bilateral oophorectomy, menopausal hormonal values were acutely high in women. At the 1-year postmenopausal follow-up, the mean scores for the SNOT-22 had increased significantly. In other words, quality of life decreased in parallel with prolonged nasal mucociliary clearance time.