Evaluation of hysterectomized women seen at a clinic for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Thirty-one women who had had total hysterectomies, seen in a venereal disease clinic, were interviewed and examined. Thirteen (31%) of the 31 women had acquired one or more venereal infections after hysterectomy. The diseases, listed in order of decreasing frequency, were trichomoniasis (four cases), gonorrhea (three), early latent syphilis (three), vaginal candidiasis (three), secondary syphilis (two), late latent syphilis (two), and condyloma acuminatum (one). These results indicate that clinicians working in venereal disease clinics must maintain as high an index of suspicion of sexually transmissible diseases for women with hysterectomies as for all other women.