A few questions

Hi ladies. My doctor sent me some papers today. She says that there is no need for bowel prep, is that normal? I have heard a lot of women had to do this. Also she wrote down Vaginal Hysterectomy BSO possible Abdominal hysterectomy. My question, is it normal to have it written up that way - vag but possible abdominal? I do not want to go abdominal unless absolutely necessary. I see her on Thursday and will ask but was wondering if anyone else's was written up this way.

And for adhesions, how do they form? From resting too much or from moving too much? How can I prevent them as best as I can?

Thank you

Hi Kaye
Some docs insist on bowel prep and others don't. I think alot of it has to do with whether they expect any bowel involvement (such as adhesions).
As for how the consent forms are written up....I was told that they do this to cover all bases. If you are scheduled for TVH, and for some reason the doc can't do it that way (eg huge fibroids, lots of endo, etc) then they want to ensure that you are aware that they may have to make an abdominal incision.

It's either that, or they would have to discontinue operating, and wake you up. Then you'd have to wait all over again to have the hyst done abdominally.

Does that make any sense?

Adhesions....the bane of my existence. If only we knew how to prevent them, then likely I wouldn't be in the shape I'm in now I believe that some people are jsut more prone to forming scar tissue. Not sure though.

s
Tam

Hi!

I just wanted to add to Tam's excellent reply: too much movement can help cause adhesions, especially when the wounds are still fresh.

Also if your DR didn't instruct you to do a bowel prep, don't. If you question it, call him/her to be sure, but seriously, it can be dangerous to you if you do bowel prep before surgery and your DR wasn't expecting it.

My doctor wrote mine up the same way. He explained he will do everything to keep it an LAVH but if he gets in there and things are not what he expected, he may have to switch to an abdominal procedure, but he did assure me that from viewing the pictures from my last lapro and the exam he did he was pretty confident that he would not have to do a TAH but one never knows until they're in there.

My doctor requested a bowel prep (lucky me!). It all depends on the doctor. I wouldn't be concerned if your doctor didn't request this, it seems they all have different pre-op things.

Good luck!

My doc wrote mine as TVH vs. TAH, with possible BSO and Appendectomy. I basically wouldn't know until I woke up exactly what he had done.

I was hoping Vag, but when I came to I found that it had been necessary to go TAH because the uterus was just too enlarged and I didn't have enough pelvic relaxation. However, because he found that my ovaries were pink and healthy he left them in place. That means no HRT for a few more years. Also, he couldn't get to my appendix without causing possible intestinal complications, so he left it, too.

I'm glad he and I discussed all the options in advance, and am pleased with the result. I can deal with the bikini line scar - at my paunchy age I'm not going to be exposing that in public anyway!

Thank you for the replies.

So if the uterus is too large that is one reason she may go abdominally. LOL I have had 5 kids, all vaginally, all 7 1/2 to 9 pounds. ROFL! I highly doubt that anything it too big. he he The thought of that is just funny.

Thank you for your input on this. I'm becoming more excited to get this over with. :-)

My vaginal births were more than 8 lb babies. I figured that if I could pass those bowling balls, I could probably pass anything through my pelvis.

It's more than just the size that matters, it's whether or not your abdominal muscle tone is still too tight to "let down" once you're put under.

Remember, when your body is preparing for a birth, you get certain hormones, etc., in those last few weeks that soften up your joints/ligaments and make your pelvic bones easier to move around to make room for the baby.

Even though I have a sloppy ab area (I'm a plus size gal) I still have a tight pelvic floor. Nothing inside was prolapsed, droopy, etc. So, doc basically gave me a test "pull" and said "Nope, we're going to have to go the other way."