Surgical or induced menopause always occurs when a surgeon removes the ovaries during a surgical procedure. The patient was not menopausal when she was put to sleep, but after the procedure, she is immediately considered to be “post-menopausal.” This is the most common cause of “induced menopause.”
Menopause can be induced by chemotherapy or radiation therapy given to a pre-menopausal woman for treatment of a malignancy. After chemotherapy, the ovaries in women under the age of 30 may recover and start functioning again.
For a woman over the age of 40, they are unlikely to recover.
Radiation therapy anywhere in the body may affect ovarian function. Radiation of the pelvis is likely to cause induced menopause quickly.
