Oophorectomy is the surgical removal of the ovaries of a female animal. In the case of non-human animals, this is also called spaying. It is a form of sterilization.
The removal of the ovaries together with the Fallopian tubes is called salpingo-oophorectomy. Oophorectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy are not common forms of birth control in humans; more usual is tubal ligation, in which the Fallopian tubes are blocked but the ovaries remain intact.
In humans, oophorectomy is most usually performed together with a hysterectomy - the removal of the uterus. Its use in a hysterectomy when there are no other health problems is somewhat controversial.
In animals, spaying involves an invasive removal of the ovaries, but rarely has major complications; the superstition that it causes weight gain is not based on fact. Spaying is especially important for certain animals that require the ovum to be released at a certain interval (called estrus or "heat"), such as cats and dogs. If the cell is not released during these animal's heat, it can cause severe medical problems that can be averted by spaying or partnering the animal with a male.
Oophorectomy is sometimes referred to as castration, but that term is most often used to mean the removal of a male animal's testicles.
Christian Albert Theodor Billroth (1829-1894), a German-born Austrian surgeon, is generally regarded as the founding father of modern abdominal surgery. Billroth was apprenticed to Carl von Langenbuch and practiced surgery at Vienna, as chief of the Second Surgical Clinic at the Allgemeine Krankenhaus (Vienna General Hospital) and professor of surgery at the University of Vienna.
Billroth was directly responsible for a number of landmarks in surgery, including the first esophagectomy (1871), the first laryngectomy (1873), and most famously, the first successful gastrectomy (1881) for gastric cancer, after many an ill-fated attempt. Legend has it that Billroth was nearly stoned to death in the streets of Vienna when his first gastrectomy patient died after the procedure.
Billroth was also instrumental in establishing the first modern "school of thought" in surgery, and among his disciples were counted luminaries such as Alexander von Winiwarter and Johann von Mikulicz-Radecki . William Halsted 's pioner surgical residency program was greatly influenced by Billroth's own methods of surgical education.
In addition to his impressive contributions to surgery, Theodor Billroth was also a passionate musician, a violin virtuoso and a close friend of Johannes Brahms.