The Da Vinci

Hello Everyone, I am scheduled for a hyst on Feb 16th. My surgeon has given me two options: Conventional Hyst or Da Vinci Robotic Surgery. Has anyone had this surgery.?

I'm having a tvh. I've never heard of Da Vinci etc. Is it new?

yes, the da vinci surgery is suppose to be less invaisive h less recoupe time.

Hi Duck5,

Here is a previous Hyster Sisters thread that might give you some information. Click on link:

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...obotic+surgery

Best wishes,

Mary

Hi, Duck5. I had a robotically assisted LAVH using the Da Vinci robot on 12/5, and I think it is a wonderful option. I took three weeks to recover and, though I do still get pretty fatigued if I've had a big day, I'm doing very well. I have four small incisions rather than a big scar, all of which are healing fine. I have no pain in my abdominal area anymore, just some pelvic cramping now and then. I went back for my post op on 12/20 and got approval to return to work and light to moderate exercise. The surgery lasted about 4 1/2 hours, and I was in the hospital for 3 nights because I got sick from the medication and had to stay an extra night. Most women go home after 1 night. There were a lot of scary side effects to the hysterectomy in general that I was worried about, such as body odor and weight gain, but I haven't experienced any so far. I kept my ovaries. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Hi Duck5

I had a robotically assisted LSH. Will you be keeping your cervix? What do you mean by "conventional" hyst? Would it still be laparoscopic?

My surgery went well, and I was up and about pretty quickly. I don't know if the Da Vinci made a big difference or not. I had 4 small incisions on my belly, and the doc said that I only had 2 stitches internally. The rest they were able to cauterize. As far as I can understand it, the biggest anvantage of the robot--at least as far as an LSH goes--is the lack of tremor in the robot's "hands." Human hands will always tremor somewhat.

I think that an important question for you would be how much experience your doc has with the Da Vinci. If he or she hasn't had much, how willing are you to be practiced on?

The excitement over my surgery made me very uncomfortable. The anesthesiologist said "This is *so* exciting!" I thought she thought she knew me and was happy that I was going to have surgery to get better. Nope. When I asked her why it was exciting, she said it was her first time with the robot.

My doc told me that they'd done about 13 of them. I found out recently (because my DH was temping at the surgery desk) that the head of the practice had done them all, while my doc was watching and learning. I'm pretty sure that I was his first. As I said, all went well, and I only lost 5 cc of blood--which was some kind of a record--but my doc could hardly wait to get out of the recovery room and answer my questions because he'd videotaped the surgery and was on his way to show it to his colleagues.

I later had to have my cervix removed, because, although he had cored and cauterized my cervix to prevent cyclical bleeding, I bled 12 days a months for 6 months. I don't know if this had to do with the surgeon's skills or not.

Docs really *love* doing this type of surgery. The doc who did mine said it's like playing a video game. I think I'm going to run if I ever have another doc get so excited about doing surgery on me!

Good luck with your decision and your surgery!



Margot