surgery Monday - any tips for IV/rapid pathology?

Well, I just got the call from the hospital. I am scheduled for TAH-LSO at 10am Monday and will report at 8am.

Some of my biggest worries are about the IV. I'm a hard stick to begin with, and after 8+ hours of fluid restriction, it is always a real problem. Does anyone know of anything they can do to help with this? Can they give me gas or something to partially knock me out before the IV?

I also want to make sure that they do pathology on everything right away. I am planning to keep my right ovary, but if they find any abnormal tissue, I think I would rather have it removed right away even though I am only 31, because my gradmother died of ovarian cancer in her 50's. Is it possible to have the tissue checked before they close me up?

Other than that, I think I am ready to go! thanks to everyone here for the great info/resources/support! This is a truly wonderful place!

Sidhe,
I am also hard to stick and the only place they usually get me is the tops of my hands,I have a little trick that always works.
about 30 minutes before you head for the hospital,take a heating pad or a hot pack and heat up the tops of your hands it makes the veins more prominant.its what I have to do on friday the 23rd,My surgery day.
goodluck ,if you need to chat just send me a private message.
huggsss

shimmeringflower

Thanks so much for that tip. I will take one of those pms heat patches with me in the car in the morning, its about a 30 minute drive. I'll let you know how it works.

good luck with your own trip to the castle on friday!

also find out if they will put a local in your vein before starting the IV, that way if they can't find the vein really quick it won't hurt. The heating pad is a good idea. My nurse put my wrist in a warm blankie before she stuck me. As far as Pathology, there is nothing to can do to make it faster. It even took my Brother in law a couple of days to get the path back from his brain tumor and they knew it was cancers as soon as they went in. If there is a mass on your ovary and it looks suspisious to the doc he will have a rush on it at Pathology. I wouldn't worry about that as you are so young. Good luck

First of all, good luck to you on your surgery. I have no veins anywhere worth sticking except in my hands and usually end up even having blood drawn there too. I had a local in my hand before she put in my IV. It was just a tiny stick and didn't hurt at all and then she just zipped that needle right in there the first time. I hope she can get it the first time, for your sake. I also used to work in pathology and one quick way for results on tissue is called a frozen section. That's where a biopsy or bigger piece of tissue is taken out and immediately sent to the pathologist and they can quick-freeze the tissue enough to take slices to put on a slide and stain. This usually takes less than 30 minutes and then the doctor can decide what to do from there based on the results, since you're still under and he can get more tissue if need be to make sure surgical margins are clear. You are young and should be ok, but I just wanted to tell you about the procedure since I know you are worried about your history. A frozen section is done a lot on breast biopsies and skin biopsies to find margins of cancer. It's worth a shot to ask about it if you're worried to see if it's something that would help in your case. Again, best of luck to you.

Check with the hospital to see if you really need eight hours of fluid restriction. Many doctors will let you have clear liquids up until two hours before the procedure.

I don't think a frozen section of your right ovary will be helpful unless the surgeon sees a suspicious mass. Even if he or she does, they may not want to do a frozen section. Ovarian masses are particularly difficult for the pathologist and for some types of masses, a frozen section may be wrong more than 20% of the time. I'm familiar with the stats because I had an unexpected ovarian mass found a week ago. I'm still waiting for the final pathology report.

Good luck!!

Frances

thanks all, we are on our way to the castle!
see you on the other side!