AQW 33614/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 15/10/2025
Answered On Date: 11/11/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail whether women who have undergone unilateral oophorectomy are entitled to routine ultrasound monitoring of the remaining ovary under health and social care services.

Answer:

For women who have undergone unilateral oophorectomy, ultrasound monitoring of the remaining ovary is not routinely conducted in any hospital in Northern Ireland unless there was a known pathology. Whilst each case is considered individually, routine ultrasound monitoring is not standard for unilateral benign pathologies, unless the patient has pathology at time of original surgery or is high risk of malignancy as determined by genetics or family history.

Furthermore, Belfast Trust have also advised there is limited evidence for screening the remaining ovary in cancer cases. The UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening showed no reduction in mortality through screening, indicating that there is limited evidence for routine monitoring.