The only way Susan Urquhart can describe how she's been feeling lately is to say she's been floating on air.

Late last week, the Chelsea resident was flown to New York City to film a guest appearance on The Doctor Oz Show to talk about an issue very near and dear to her heart: hysterectomies.

Last year, Urquhart published the book "Uninformed Consent" about her own experience feeling coerced into getting a hysterectomy about 13 years ago - only to discover a host of consequences she said she never felt adequately informed about.

She's since devoted much of her time to increasing awareness about the surgery. On Thursday, the segment featuring her story - along with other women and experts discussing the surgery - will air locally on WDIV-Detroit.

Dr. Mehmet Oz is a heart surgeon and a former "Oprah Winfrey Show" health expert who now has his own show discussing a range of health topics. Thursday's segment is called "The #1 surgery you don't need: Hysterectomy."

A spokeswoman from the show confirmed Urquhart's guest appearance. The show is usually scheduled for 3 p.m. locally, but according to TV Guide, local programming has been bumped forward to 2 p.m. due to the Olympics on that channel.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 600,000 hysterectomies were performed annually between 1994 and 1999, the most recent data available. Hysterectomy, which involves the removal of a woman's uterus, is the second most common surgical procedure performed on women of reproductive age, following cesarean section. It is most commonly performed on women ages 40 through 44.

Urquhart was a perimenopausal woman when she visited her gynecologist to address some discomfort. Her doctor, she said, repeatedly pushed for her to have the surgery to remove her uterus, ovaries, cervix and fallopian tubes because of fibroids on her uterus.

Urquhart said she was informed the fibroids didn't pose an immediate risk to her health, but finally gave consent for the procedure.

Following the surgery, she said she was immediately impacted by psychological and physical side effects she hadn't been informed about. Some of those consequences included depression, incontinence, numbness and damaged sexual function.

"It's just criminal women aren't told," Urquhart said. "You have to ask questions. You have to be your own advocate. I said I felt like these organs were germane to my identity."

As for her visit to New York, Urquhart said being on the show was exciting. She said she was glad to have the chance to share her story and her belief that societal attitudes toward women and physicians' bottom lines lead to "frivolous" hysterectomies.

She was particularly impressed by Dr. Oz during the filming of the show, saying she felt he stuck his neck out in taking a stand against a trend of unnecessary hysterectomies. A few other women's stories are featured on the show, including a 30-something woman considering a hysterectomy because of fibroids and at least one gynecologist discussing the procedure.

At one point in the filming, one of the female guests began to cry, and Dr. Oz was quick to comfort her and offer assistance, Urquhart said.

"He is the real deal. He really is," Urquhart said.

Tina Reed covers health and the environment for AnnArbor.com. You can reach her at tinareed@annarbor.com, call her at 734-623-2535 or find her on Twitter @TreedinAA.