Effects of oophorectomy and hormone replacement therapy on the pulsatility indices of hepatic and renal arteries

Abstract

Objective. To investigate the flow velocity waveform changes of the hepatic and renal arteries in women with surgical menopause who received hormone replacement therapy versus those who did not. Methods. Eighty women who had undergone surgical menopause were divided into 2 groups. The first group (n = 38) consisted of patients who did not receive estrogen treatments after surgery; patients in the second group (n = 42) did receive treatments. The hepatic and renal arteries of patients in both groups were examined by duplex Doppler ultrasonography before the commencement of hormone replacement therapy and after 2 years of treatment, and the pulsatility indices were calculated. Results. No significant differences were detected in the renal and hepatic artery pulsatility indices of patients in the estrogen treatment group (group 2) before and after total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (P>.05). No significant differences in preoperative and postoperative hepatic arterial pulsatility indices were detected among patients in group 1 (P>.05). Renal artery pulsatility indices measured before and after total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy did show a statistically significant difference in group 1 (P<.001). In addition, a statistically significant difference was detected before and after surgery in both groups when pulsatility indices were measured at the second-year control dose. Conclusions. Hepatic arterial pulsatility indices are not affected in postmenopausal women, but renal artery pulsatility indices rise to some extent in women not receiving hormone replacement therapy.