Cuff Questions

I have been reading a lot of posts and I was wondering if someone could explain to me this vaginal cuff thing. I have had pain since my first extremely painful BM and pain while urinating. I'm just not sure where the pain is actually coming from. Anyone have any suggestions and/or explanations on the cuff thing?

Hi!

When you have a TAH, your entire uterus is removed. The uterus is the organ above your vagina.

Prior to the TAH, your cervix (which is the lower part of the uterus) had only a small opening in it, so it in effect was a natural barrier between the vagina and the uterus. Without the cervix and uterus, the vagina has no "end". So the surgeon sews up the end of the vagina to form what is known as a vaginal cuff. The surgically closed cuff substitutes for the cervix, which is no longer there.

I hope that explanation helps. I'm no surgeon, so I don't know if I was clear enough.

As for what is causing your painful BMs, I have to tell you that this is pretty common after any surgery, especially abdominal surgery. It took several weeks for my digestive tract to really work properly!

Eat well (veggies and fruits especially), drink lots of water, and if your doctor has recommended it, take stool softeners if you are on narcotic pain relievers. Also, as much walking asyou can tolerate is good, as gravity and the motion of walking sometimes helps things move along, so to speak.

Sometimes use laxatives, but I must caution you that this isn't something to be done "on your own" when you are recovering from surgery. The best thing to do at this point is to look for direction from your doctor or the nursing staff. They can let you know what is OK for you.

Thank you so much for explaining all that. It helps me a lot!