Vaginal Cuff..... HUH???

Here I go again, sounding ignorant.... What is a vaginal cuff and how do I know if I have one?
Ok, so I did read an article on the site re: cuffs so I am aware that it is what closes up the vagina on the inside when the cervix is removed. BUT... what is it made of, how is it attatched.. I'm kinda having one of those HOLY CRUD moments!!
I did not have this conversation with my doc pre or post surgery. I'm not even sure if I have a cervix anymore. Guess I have some questions to ask him!
Also, I keep reading that there are vaginal stitches. I don't feel a thing down there... no pain, pulling, nada. It's as if nothing happened below my bikini line. Anyone have any ideas??
BTW, I am 5 days post op LAVH

Hi pinksdaze!

If you had an LAVH you do not have a cervix. The term "vaginal cuff" just refers to the top end of the vagina that got stitched shut during your surgery. It is not an implant of foreign material, nothing is "attached." It is your own body tissue.

The following article may shed some light on the topic:

Vaginal Cuff - What is it?

I had stitches inside me, too, and didn't "feel" them. I would have had no idea they were there.

Try not to worry about these things. You are very early post-op and you should be resting most of the time.

Many s and Best Wishes,

This post was great to read, I too wasn't sure what the vaginal cuff was! ( I also had to humbly call my doctor a week after surgery to ask him if I had my cervix or not, so you aren't alone, I didn't know it came out automatically with a LAVH)

Hi Pinksdaze,

If you are really curious (and I'm a big science geek, so these things do not bother me at all) you might want to check out this link.

http://www.laparoscopyhospital.com/L...sterectomy.htm

There is a video, which you have to download as well as some images, both photographed and drawn. I thought the written descriptions were really informative.

Initially my doctor and I discussed LAVH - but I couldn't go there as I'd had 3 prior laproscopic surgeries. Instead I had abdominal surgery.

Either way, what this site did for me is really emphasize the scope of my surgery. I've only got this little external incision, and you with a laproscopic surgery, have even smaller external incisions!

Its the internal stuff that you don't see that needs time to heal without you doing cartwheels!

Ann