Has anyone had Davinci for a large fibroid

Hello lovely peoples.

I wonder if any of you have had very large fibroids removed using Davinchi/keyhole surgery. My story is below, but the gist of it is that I have a very large 'fibroid/s uterus' looks 5-6 months pregnant and largest fibroid was 20cm at last scan. My doctor says not, but I have noticed that other surgeons may be willing to do this.

My story:
Have mostly been a reader on this site, but have finally decided to post and share my story as I have a date for the operation and am decidedly feeling 'strange' about it.

My story is basically is that for the last three years or so I was basically bleeding very very heavily, having had had heavy periods all my life, I just thought all well, its part of the ageing process, everything seemed to get worse over time and so didn't think much of it. Then about a two years ago I had chest pains for a month akin to heart attack. Tests revealed I was so anaemic my heart was over working trying to get the little Oxygen I had around my body. I finally went to the doctor who started treating me for the severe anaemia a LOT of iron and Tranexamic acid (like Lysteda).

I had by this point gained some weight cause I didn't have the energy to exercise (would get breathless just from climbing stairs). After my blood count rose to a safer level I began working out and lost a lot of weight. Except I noticed that what I had though was my 'fat belly' didn't go down an inch, and it was eerily hard. I now looked like a skinny pregnant woman.

I just tried to loose more weight, but increasingly realised that I could feel a hard mass in my stomach, I finally went to my doctor and demanded he did a stomach exam. I was immediately rushed to have an ultrasound then a CT scan where they found a had a 20cm enlarged Uterous/Fibroids.

Then followed months on decapeptyl (lupron type medication) to control my bleeding and shrink the tumour. In the end couldn't hack the Menopause side effects (couldn't sleep from the hot flashes and was slowly going mad from lack of sleep), so now on HRT. But the tumour has also grown back nearly to its original size. Got my Op date today. Looks like it will be an abdominal myomectomy with a high possibility of hysterectomy

	Quote:
Originally Posted by tweetestbird Hello lovely peoples. I wonder if any of you have had very large fibroids removed using Davinchi/keyhole surgery. My story is below, but the gist of it is that I have a very large 'fibroid/s uterus' looks 5-6 months pregnant and largest fibroid was 20cm at last scan. My doctor says not, but I have noticed that other surgeons may be willing to do this. My story: Have mostly been a reader on this site, but have finally decided to post and share my story as I have a date for the operation and am decidedly feeling 'strange' about it. My story is basically is that for the last three years or so I was basically bleeding very very heavily, having had had heavy periods all my life, I just thought all well, its part of the ageing process, everything seemed to get worse over time and so didn't think much of it. Then about a two years ago I had chest pains for a month akin to heart attack. Tests revealed I was so anaemic my heart was over working trying to get the little Oxygen I had around my body. I finally went to the doctor who started treating me for the severe anaemia a LOT of iron and Tranexamic acid (like Lysteda). I had by this point gained some weight cause I didn't have the energy to exercise (would get breathless just from climbing stairs). After my blood count rose to a safer level I began working out and lost a lot of weight. Except I noticed that what I had though was my 'fat belly' didn't go down an inch, and it was eerily hard. I now looked like a skinny pregnant woman. I just tried to loose more weight, but increasingly realised that I could feel a hard mass in my stomach, I finally went to my doctor and demanded he did a stomach exam. I was immediately rushed to have an ultrasound then a CT scan where they found a had a 20cm enlarged Uterous/Fibroids. Then followed months on decapeptyl (lupron type medication) to control my bleeding and shrink the tumour. In the end couldn't hack the Menopause side effects (couldn't sleep from the hot flashes and was slowly going mad from lack of sleep), so now on HRT. But the tumour has also grown back nearly to its original size. Got my Op date today. Looks like it will be an abdominal myomectomy with a high possibility of hysterectomy

how are you hope all is well with you today. I am two weeks post op. I started suffering bad with fibroids starting in 2004. Everyone suggested I get them removed while they were a moderate size but I was afraid to have sugery so I figured I could live with it. Fast forward eight years later it grew to the size bigger than a full term baby. You could imagine how I looked and felt. In feb 2011 I woke up being put in an ambulance. I asked my husband what happened. I had a seizure in my sleep and they had a hard time waking me up. I was hospitalized for a week. They said they didn't know what caused it but they suspected the tumor was so large it pressed on an artery that cut off the blood flow to my brain. This past september I was rushed to er because of severe hemmoraging. I had never bled like that before and I lost 40 blood volume. Was given a shot of estrogen and put on birth control pills to stop bleeding and referred to a doctor. My fibroids had streched my uterus up into my stomach. I saw the head surgeon in the office and he simply told me those have to come out. And that was the end of my running. I asked him you don't us a robot do you because I didn't want that type of surgery because I read a few negative stories about them. He tod me a robot wouldn't help anyway because they were so large. He had to go places the robot couldn't to get them out. I had multiple tumors. In the end the surgery went great and I delivered a 21 pound tumor lol! I was blessed with a excellent surgeon who's been doing these type surgeries for over thirty years. Listen to your doctor. If he says it can't be done with the robot its probably because of the size and he may have to do things that dvh can't do to get it out safely. I pray your surgery goes well.

I had DaVinci on June 1st. I had a uterus measuring out to be 6-7 months pregnant and I had multiple fibroids, some quite large. I was severely anemic andrequired blood transfusions. I was also on very high iron. My Dr, whom I have had for 20 + years, said everything was to big, I had to have a TAH. I was so against this, so I started doing my own research. I found a Dr about 3 hrs from my home, who specalizes in DaVinci. He even teaches it to other Dr's across the country. So I set up a visit with him. He said I was a perfect candidate for DaVinci. He also said it didnt matter the size of the uterus or fibroids, as long as you had an experienced surgeon, because everything is sliced up while still inside of you, and then, basically, sucked out a litte tube in your incisions. He also said I had so many tumors that the robot could get into tight places that would be harder for his hands to fit. So that is what I opted to do. And I am so glad I did. It was a total pain free surgery. I was up at going within hours after my surgery. I didnt need any pain pills, and I was back to my normal routine in less than a week. So I would definitley reccommend getting another opinion, maybe even 2 or 3 opinions. Just look for a skilled surgeon, I think that made all the difference in the world.

I had a very large uterus that squished my stomach, bladder, and colon. She warned me beforehand that she might have to do a bikini line incision. But the goal was for all of it to come out my tiny incisions. My uterus ended up being much larger than she saw on the sonogram. All of it came out the tiny incisions with davinci.

I wish it was easier to get a second opinion here in the UK, it's great that we don't pay for majority of treatment, but getting a second opinion is so difficult. I might have to go private to really check if Davinchi is not possible, the largest fibroid goes all the way up to my lungs/stomach so my doctor says getting the camera in will be impossible...I'll see if I can afford a private consultation to get a second opinion. What is really annoying is that if the fibroid had been found even just a couple of years ago I could have had the op done in the best hospital in the country as I lived near it!

Thank you all for your quick replies, much appreciated, and great to hear you are all doing well after your ops!

I had Da Vinci LVH for 4 large hemorrhoids and enlarged uterus, equivalent to 18 week pregnancy. Surgery was 8 months ago and my life is tranfsformed. Before surgery I had been having heavy bleeding from fibroids, heavy periods, and hemorrhoids. Had to have 3 blood transfusions, 13 out patient iron transfusions, then had to wait about 5 weeks to get strong enough for surgery. Only 4 small incisions then uterus was removed through the vagina. I just had hemorrhoid surgery 3 weeks ago to resolve my final issues with bleeding. Hysterectomy recovery was much easier than pain after hemorrhoid surgery. I am a huse fan of Da Vinci, but you do want an experienced surgeon who is comfortable with it. Go get another opinion from another doctor who specializes in robotic procedures. good luck....

Pray about it.

Hi Tweetestbird,
I'm in the UK and am scheduled to have TAH for a very large fibroid. In August it was equivalent to 30-32 weeks of pregnancy. I have read about da Vinci on this site but the enquiries I have made have satisfied me that TAH is probably best for me.
Be careful about paying for private. I had wanted to have embolisation instead of hysterectomy. Because the NHS seemed unconcerned about my huge fibroid I was on the point of paying for a private MRI to see if embolisation was feasible. That would have been over £800 just for the scan. A few days later I phoned the NHS hospital gynaecologist, whom I had never met, in desperation. He told me to come and see him same day and immmmediately booked in an MRI scan. It turns out embolisation probably would not have been enough to resolve my problems.
My advice would be don't rush into anything but keep making enquiries. Best wishes to you! I sympathise with what you've been through.

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Originally Posted by Gosport Fox Hi Tweetestbird, I'm in the UK and am scheduled to have TAH for a very large fibroid. In August it was equivalent to 30-32 weeks of pregnancy. I have read about da Vinci on this site but the enquiries I have made have satisfied me that TAH is probably best for me. Be careful about paying for private. I had wanted to have embolisation instead of hysterectomy. Because the NHS seemed unconcerned about my huge fibroid I was on the pointers of paying for a private MRI to see if embolisation was feasible. That would have been over £800 just for the scan. A few days later I phoned the NHS hospital gynaecologist, whom I had never met, in desperation. He told me to come and see him same day and immmmediately booked in an MRI scan. It turns out embolisation probably would not have been enough took resolve my problems. My advice would be don't rush into anything but keep making enquiries. Best wishes to you! I sympathise with what you've been through.

I totally agree. Take your time and ask God for his guidance concerning this matter. I guarantee he will show you which way is best and safe for you. Be blessed.

Thanks so much for your reply GosfordFox, nice to also hear from someone in similar situation in the UK. Yeah, I don't think I want to pay for private treatment, I'd risk going bankrupt. I am actually happy with my doctor, just bothered that I haven't had a second opinion. But he has managed my treatment quite well so far. Thanks again everyone.