Keeping cervix

gsgal,

I'm glad your doc honored your wishes!

I actually had the opposite problem. My cervix had been covered with carcinoma in situ just a year before my LSH. This is preinvasive cancer. And he wanted me to keep my cervix! He's the one who'd lasered off the cancerous tissue and he kept forgetting about it.

When I knew I was going to have a hyst, I saw this as an opportunity to never have to worry about the cancer coming back. But he was really pushing for me to keep my cervix. I felt like I was asking for too much to keep it!

Several doctors since have told me that that was incredibly irresponsible on his part. He wanted to perform a "robotically assisted" surgery and could only use the robot if he did an LSH.

And then 6 months later I had to have my cervix removed because of extensive mini periods.

I wish my first doc had honored my wishes the way yours did!



Margot

smargie,
Thats pretty horrible that your DR would push you to keep your cervix because he wanted to a particular type of surgery. Especially that you already had possible cancer issues. Safe to assume you are no longer his patient?

Hope things are better for you now.
Nina

Thanks, Nina...

That was pretty horrible, wasn't it?! The carcinoma in situ and the long mini periods didn't have anything to do with eachother, but if I'd had an LAVH instead of the LSH, I wouldn't have had to have that second surgery.

And, yes, he has been *way* fired! I ended up going back to the doc who treated me during my pregnancies. He's about 90 minutes away, since we've moved since then, but it was completely worth it.

The bad doc who did my first surgery video taped it because it was the best he'd ever done. I know that he's shown it to his colleagues a few times. Little does he know the condition he left me in!

I let him know how I felt at my 6 week post op, after I'd learned that I was *not* a candidate to keep my cervix. He got very defensive and said "We discussed the pros and cons before the surgery." Then his face brightened and he said "But, if we do need to take your cervix later, we can do it with the robot."

I am better now...thanks for the sympathy. You can probably tell that I'm still not quite over it!



Margot

Mary,

Having sex with a cervix with a fibroid on it was painful. And I sure as heck wasn't going to keep one of those alien beings in my body and let it grow. I'm glad to be rid of the thing.

I agree it's a personal issue and very dependant on the history of the woman. I don't think anyone should be railroaded into making the doctor's choice.

I read some articles about problems with supracervical hysts, since *I* had such terrible problems.

Don't quote me, because I'm going on memory here...The percentage of women who experienced problems later was something like 20%. The problems were mini periods, pelvic pain, dysplasia and/or cancer and there *were* a few cases reported of new fibroids growing on the cervix!

So, I guess when you're talking about medical history you need to consider things like painful intercourse as well as bad Paps. This is pretty new stuff and I don't think it's all sorted out very well yet.

I think that getting more than one opinion is a must. I didn't because I was too lazy . I was also scared because the doc that did my LSH said that I had a complex cyst on my right ovary and needed an oophorectomy within a month to rule out cancer. The hyst was actually secondary to that...since it had lots of fibroids and they were distorting my uterus he thought we should take it, too, as I was done having kids. It turns out that the cyst was a simple one that ruptured before the surgery. If I'd gone to my old doc first for a second opinion, I'm almost certain he would have been better at diagnosing the cyst and we would have done the watch and wait plan. And then I wouldn't have had the hyst in the first place--which caused a second surgery--and a trip to the ER because I overdid it and hemorrhaged after the second surgery. So, I paid big time for being a lazy chicken.

There *are* risks to keeping the cervix. But your chances are pretty good that everything will go smoothly. I think that the other part of the "personal" choice we always mention is weighing the risks. Would it bother you if you bled at all? Swank didn't want anymore bleeding *at all* and Linda doesn't mind the small amount that she gets. Some women are very concerned about sexual functioning without a cervix and would never want to jeopordize that. Some women are better than others about living with the (small) risk of cancer in the future. I wish we had a crystal ball!

So, get more than one opinion and try to sort out your personal priorities. OK, I'm off by soapbox now!

See, Blue? I told you this was a hot topic!



Margot

Kept my cervix. Wanted to keep as much as possible. Unfortunately Dr needed to take one ovary and the other failed. However, my reasons for keeping my cervix were no cancer in my family and paps aren't that big a deal, it's supposed to give better pelvic floor support and there is some discussion about maintaining better sexual experiences. The bottom line is I'm happy with my decision.

-Joy

PS. No problem with mini-periods.

To: Joy

I agree with what you said. My Dr. went over the same reasons. He felt the cervix helps with future pelvic support and with sex also. For me, it has been true.

Best wishes,

Mary