Anyone else vag hyst with large uterus?

I have had three gyn surgery consults. Two were from Mayo Clinic, one at an outside institution. All three consults recommended vaginal hysterectomy.

I have a 16-17 week-size uterus, one 6 cm fibroid, and multiple small fibroids. My gyn surgeon of choice and her entire department has extensive experience and skill in performing vaginal hysterectomies, even with a large uterus. I am aware that not all surgeons have this skill level or experience and I am fortunate to live near Mayo and have established a rapport with a physician I really like.

I did not request or even inquire about a vaginal hysterectomy, but simply listened to all their recommendations and asked questions. I have posted questions on some womens' health groups outside of HysterSisters and some people are so rude (particularly those who have had UAE)! They assume my consults are suspect if the physicians are willing to operate on something with a large uterus.

Has anyone else had a vaginal hysterectomy with a larger uterus like mine, and where was your surgery performed?

To answer your question , YES. My uterus was the size of a football. ... about a 5 mth pregnancy, and full of tumors, the largest the size of an orange. They were able to remove it vaginally. It took more than 2 hours, but was well worth it. I have no outer incision to deal w/, and am very thankful for that. My recovery has been a little longer than those w/ smaller ones to remove, ... or at least it appears that way. I have been off work for 5 wks now, and planning to return next week.
Good luck to you.
climb

My doc was concerned about a 6cm ovarian cyst...didn't know if she could bring it down vaginally with all the scopes etc in there too. The cyst turned out to be 10cm. She consulted with another doctor and they agreed it looked safe enough to "pop" so they wouldn't have to cut. I am so glad she did. Recovery was great without the incision to deal with. Everything was fine with the path reports so it was a good decision. Sounds like your doctors know what they're talking about.

My surgery isn't until May 7th, but I also have a large uterus (16-20 week) with fibroids 7cm, 4cm, 3cm and smaller ones. My doctor is planning a LAVH. I even told him that I had read that a 16 week uterus was borderline for a vaginal and his reply was that "it would make it very hard for him, but he could do it". Guess that's what I'll be getting too!