--- description: Lena Dunham said she had a total hysterectomy — the removal of her uterus and cervix — to address pain caused by endometriosis. title: Lena Dunham Reveals She Had a Hysterectomy to Stop Pain From Endometriosis image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted44c529a0015c49/6988c1480b72e3fc166ed31d/lena-dunham-endometriosis.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Lena Dunham Reveals She Had a Hysterectomy to Stop Pain From Endometriosis  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:02 PM CUTPublished: Feb 14, 2018 3:27 PM CUT  NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 07: Lena Dunham attends 'Growing Up With Anxiety: Lena Dunham and Dr. Anne Marie Albano in Conversation With Jenni Konner' at 92Y on February 7, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 07: Lena Dunham attends 'Growing Up With Anxiety: Lena Dunham and Dr. Anne Marie Albano in Conversation With Jenni Konner' at 92Y on February 7, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Pont/WireImage)Mike Pont—WireImage  by [Samantha Cooney](/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 12, 2023 10:02 PM CUTPublished: Feb 14, 2018 3:27 PM CUT [Lena Dunham](http://time.com/4741965/girls-finale-review-latching/ "undefined") said she underwent a total hysterectomy — the surgical removal of the cervix and uterus — in an attempt to ease the pain caused by [endometriosis](http://time.com/4741965/girls-finale-review-latching/ "undefined"). In an [essay for the March issue of ](https://www.vogue.com/article/lena-dunham-hysterectomy-vogue-march-2018-issue?mbid=social%5Ftwitter "undefined")_Vogue,_ which was [excerpted by the Endometriosis Foundation of America](https://www.endofound.org/breaking-lena-dunham-reveals-her-latest-endometriosis-battle-i-had-a-total-hysterectomy "undefined"), the _Girls_ creator said she had the surgery to address chronic pain from [endometriosis,](http://www.health.com/sexual-health/endometriosis-causes-treatment-lena-dunham?cid=2017013&XID=time-health-hub "undefined") which occurs when the tissue that [lines the inside](https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/endometri/conditioninfo "undefined") of a woman’s uterus grows in places outside the uterus. Dunham, 31, has been [open](http://time.com/4212882/lena-dunham-girls-endometriosis/ "undefined") in the past about her struggle with the condition, which affects [about 176 million women across the globe](https://www.endofound.org/endometriosis "undefined"). Dunham wrote in her essay that she elected to have a hysterectomy after “years of complex surgeries measuring in the double digits” and alternative treatments, including yoga, acupuncture and massage therapy. CNN reports that Dunham had to [convince doctors that she wanted to have the surgery,](https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/14/entertainment/lena-dunham-hysterectomy-endometriosis/ "undefined") which will make her unable to bear children. But Dunham, who said she always wanted to have children, wrote that she’ll now consider surrogacy or adoption. “I may have felt choiceless before, but I know I have choices now,” Dunham wrote. “Soon I’ll start exploring whether my ovaries, which remain someplace inside me in that vast cavern of organs and scar tissue, have eggs. Adoption is a thrilling truth I’ll pursue with all my might.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5157553/lena-dunham-hysterectomy-vogue/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5157553/lena-dunham-hysterectomy-vogue/"},"headline":"Lena Dunham Reveals She Had a Hysterectomy to Stop Pain From Endometriosis","datePublished":"2018-02-14T15:27:44.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-12T22:02:48.000Z","description":"She still wants to have children and will now consider surrogacy or adoption","url":"https://time.com/5157553/lena-dunham-hysterectomy-vogue/","keywords":["Women's Health","onetime","healthytime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted44c529a0015c49/6988c1480b72e3fc166ed31d/lena-dunham-endometriosis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blted44c529a0015c49/6988c1480b72e3fc166ed31d/lena-dunham-endometriosis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Growing Up With Anxiety: Lena Dunham and Dr. Anne Marie Albano in Conversation With Jenni Konner","caption":"Growing Up With Anxiety: Lena Dunham and Dr. Anne Marie Albano in Conversation With Jenni Konner","creditText":"Mike Pont—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5157553/lena-dunham-hysterectomy-vogue/","name":"Lena Dunham Reveals She Had a Hysterectomy to Stop Pain From Endometriosis"}}]}] ```