post-op appt?

I can't post in the post-op section yet but am wondering what is involved in the post-op appt? sono?, pelvic exam? I know everyone's dr is different but want to get prepared.

Hmm I wonder too. I'm also getting the Da Vinci assisted hysterectomy. I really just want to know when I can get back to working out. One of the things my husband and I find couple time for is biking. Even now the pressure and pain prevents me from long rides. I'm sure they'll have to check my vaginal cuff, so I imagine a pelvic exam is in my future. But I'm not sure what else to expect.

My post-op appointment did not involve a pelvic exam (although I was really worried about that ). It mostly consisted of just checking my general health to make sure that all healing was proceeding as planned. My doc did check my incision to ensure that looked good, and was not infected. He also reiterated dos and don'ts. That was about it.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by itsmekarenlee I can't post in the post-op section yet but am wondering what is involved in the post-op appt? sono?, pelvic exam? I know everyone's dr is different but want to get prepared.

For my two week after post op appointment, when I went into the exam room the nurse said I didn't need to undress because there would be no exam, but then I told her I was having some drainage of some sort of fluid, so she said that there would be an exam after all.
My gyn/oncologist checked (looked and felt) the stitches in the vagina (that did not hurt but I was still so sore and mauled-feeling that I was anxious). The stitches were fine and he told me the discharge was normal.
He also looked at the incisions from the da Vinci. There was one that was not flat that I was worried about, and he looked/felt it, and said not to worry about it, that it will flatten out eventually (though here I am almost 4 weeks post-op, and it is not yet perfectly flat).
Then he told me that he was willing to sign my Return to Work Certification as soon as I felt ready. I did not feel ready yet.
The majority of the post-op appointment was in the consultation room (after the exam in the exam-room) going over the pathology report and the possible next steps for the cancer.
Then, because my pathology report had found aggressive type cancer, the chemo nurse discussed chemo with me.

I'm starting back to work this coming Monday -- my FMLA leave was only for 4 weeks, and I've used it all, I was not ready to return to work until just a couple days ago, but I requested the doctor to sign the certificate for Monday because I needed to get outpatient surgery to install the port (and because I needed some time to go shopping for comfy pants to go back to work in, and a wig so I'm a little ready for chemo).
My next post-op appointment will be the first day of my post-op week 6. I don't know what they do at that appt.

This is really variable from doctor to doctor. It's also affected by why you had surgery in the first place. My surgery was for endo cancer. My post-op appointment was at four weeks. A nurse examined my incision and asked me a lot of questions about my general health. Then my gyn onc came in and examined my incision, and *then* we got on to the main event, which was the discussion of the post-op pathology report. I'd been expecting that I would need radiation, but the report turned out better than I'd expected. My gyn onc recommended no radiation and no chemo, just follow-up exams every six months for the next two years.

After that we talked about clearances. I was cleared to return to work the next day and walk, run, bike, swim - just about everything except lift 30-40 boxes at work and use a rowing type exercise machine. Doc said wait 'til six weeks for those and start off gradually.

That was it for the appointment. There was no pelvic exam, which surprised me a little but I wasn't going to argue. I stopped in with the receptionist on the way out to get an appointment date for December and then walked along the river until it was time to catch the bus home.

I had my six week post-op appointment on Monday. I talked first with the nurse about how things had been going (very, very well!), and then a resident came. She did a pelvic exam: first with a speculum to have a look at the vaginal cuff, and then an internal to feel it. I still have some stitches that haven't dissolved yet. The speculum hurt...not terribly, but more than it does, say, when there is a regular internal at the doctor's. The palpating of the cuff wasn't a problem, though I was a bit tender and sore of days after.

The resident went over the pathology report with me (all benign!), and then my surgeon came in to have brief chat - basically just to reiterate what the resident had said, and then to send me on my way. I'm cleared for all regular activity now, and there's no need to go back unless there's a problem. Even better...he said I don't ever need internal exams again! Woohoo!