Doctor-Reviewed Health Guides: Conditions, Procedures & Health News

A hymenectomy is a minor outpatient surgery that opens or removes extra hymen tissue blocking the vaginal opening. It treats imperforate, microperforate, septate, and cribriform hymen so menstrual blood can flow, tampons can be used, and sex is pain-free. It usually uses local anesthesia, takes under an hour, and most people recover within two to four weeks.

The HPV vaccine is a series of two or three shots that protects against human papillomavirus types that cause cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, anal and throat cancers, plus genital warts. It works best before any sexual contact, so it is routinely given at ages 11–12 and offered from 9 up to 45.

Hormone therapy for breast cancer is a treatment for hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer that lowers estrogen levels or blocks hormones from reaching cancer cells. It is usually a daily pill or regular injection, often given after surgery to lower the risk of the cancer coming back, and most people take it for at least five years.

Holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) is a minimally invasive laser surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) that removes the prostate tissue blocking urine flow, working through the urethra with no skin incisions. It suits any prostate size, especially large glands; most people go home within hours and have the catheter removed the next day.

Using underarm crutches properly means fitting them so the top sits two finger widths below your armpits and the handgrips sit near your hips, then carrying your weight through your hands, never your armpits. Move both crutches and the injured leg together, step through with the strong leg, follow your prescribed weight-bearing limit, and go slowly.

Hip revision surgery is an operation that repairs or replaces an artificial hip joint after a hip replacement. It is done when the implant wears out, loosens, dislocates, becomes infected or is misaligned, or when the bone around it breaks. The surgeon replaces all or part of the old implant to relieve pain and restore movement.

Hormone therapy for menopause is a treatment that replaces the estrogen, and sometimes progesterone, that the ovaries stop making, to relieve hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, poor sleep and bone loss. Risks are generally lower when it is started before age 60 or within 10 years of menopause, and a clinician should weigh benefits and risks first.

Hormone therapy for cancer is a treatment that stops hormone-sensitive cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow. It is used mainly for prostate, breast, ovarian and uterine cancers, delivered through tablets, injections or surgery, often alongside surgery, chemotherapy or radiation, and can lower the chance of cancer returning.

Hip resurfacing is a hip surgery that replaces only the hip socket with a prosthetic and trims and caps the head of the thigh bone instead of removing it. It treats severe arthritis pain and stiffness that nonsurgical care has not relieved, and it best suits people under 60 with strong, healthy bones. Most people go home the same day.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a minimally invasive treatment that focuses many ultrasound beams on one small area to heat and destroy targeted tissue without incisions or radiation. Doctors use it for certain tumors, uterine fibroids, thyroid nodules and tremor that medicine can't control. It usually takes one session, often outpatient, with recovery in a few days.

Hip replacement surgery is an operation that replaces a damaged hip joint with artificial implants made of metal, plastic or ceramic. It is most often done for hip arthritis that causes severe pain and stiffness. Surgery takes one to two hours, many people go home the same day, and unrestricted use can take 6 to 12 weeks.

A Herbst appliance is a usually fixed orthodontic device that holds the lower jaw forward to correct Class II bites such as a deep overbite, overjet or a small lower jaw. It works best in growing children and teens, usually ages 9 to 14, is often paired with braces, and is typically worn for about a year.

Hip arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgery in which a surgeon inserts a small camera and tiny tools through a few buttonhole-sized cuts to find and repair damage inside the hip joint. It treats hip impingement, labral tears, loose fragments and tendon problems, usually as same-day surgery, with most people recovering in about six weeks.

A hepatectomy (liver resection) is surgery to remove part of the liver, commonly to treat primary liver cancer, colorectal cancer that has spread to the liver, benign tumors, cysts or bile duct stones. Surgeons can usually remove up to two-thirds of a healthy liver, and the remaining liver regrows over weeks to months.

Heart failure surgery is a group of procedures, from catheter-based treatments to open-heart surgery and heart transplant, used when medicines and lifestyle changes have not controlled heart failure. Surgery can treat the underlying cause, improve how the heart pumps and ease symptoms. It does not cure heart failure, and risks include stroke, bleeding, infection and death.

Heart failure medications are prescription drugs that help a weakened heart pump better, ease symptoms such as breathlessness and swelling, slow the disease, and help people live longer. Most people take several drugs together, often including ACE inhibitors and beta blockers, plus diuretics for fluid. Never stop them without your doctor's advice.

Hearing aids are small electronic devices worn behind or inside the ear that make sounds louder so people with hearing loss can hear and follow speech more easily. They cannot restore natural hearing. An audiologist tests your hearing first, then helps you choose prescription or over-the-counter devices, which usually last six to seven years.

Hartmann's procedure is an operation that removes a diseased section of the lower colon, seals off the top of the rectum and attaches the healthy colon to an opening in the belly (a colostomy). It is often done in emergencies such as severe diverticulitis, a bowel blockage or colorectal cancer, and it may be reversed after 6 to 12 months.

A hair transplant is a surgery that moves skin containing healthy hair, usually from the back of the scalp, to bald or thinning areas. It treats permanent hair loss, most often pattern baldness and hair loss from injuries or burns. Grafting, the most common method, uses numbing medicine, and full results can take up to a year.

Hair loss treatment is care that finds the cause of hair loss or thinning and manages it. Options include treating an underlying condition, medications like minoxidil, finasteride or corticosteroids, and procedures like hair transplant or light therapy. Results usually appear in three to six months. Sudden, extensive hair loss needs prompt medical review.

An epidural is an injection into the space around the spinal nerves, used to numb pain or reduce nerve inflammation. Anesthetic epidurals relieve pain during labor and surgery within about 20 to 30 minutes, while steroid injections ease back pain for a few months. Serious side effects are rare.

Enucleation is surgery that removes the entire eyeball and part of the optic nerve while leaving the bones of the eye socket in place. It treats severe eye injuries, eye cancers, serious infections and painful blind eyes. An implant fills the socket, recovery takes one to two months, and a custom prosthetic eye follows.

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) is a noninvasive outpatient therapy for chronic stable angina that no longer responds to other treatments. Pressure cuffs on the legs and buttocks inflate and deflate in sync with the heartbeat to improve blood flow to the heart. A standard course is about 35 one-hour sessions over seven weeks.

Steri-Strips are thin adhesive strips that hold the edges of a small, shallow, straight cut together while it heals. Place them across the cut, starting in the middle, and leave them on for up to 2 weeks. Deep, gaping, jagged or bleeding cuts, bites and wounds from dirty objects need medical care instead.