I think it's important to keep in mind that the very, very few cases of abdominal pregnancy after a hysterectomy that have been
legitimately documented, have all been cases in which the woman was technically pregnant at the time of the hysterectomy (either a tubal pregnancy or the ovum had just been fertilized and had not yet reached the uterus). Case in point is the story in the link given earlier in this thread, where the woman was diagnosed 11 weeks after her hysterectomy with a 13 week pregnancy. You do the math.
Keep in mind, also, that most of us are instructed not to have intercourse until we are cleared, typically at our six week checkup. At that point, the vaginal cuff is plenty healed - there are no 'holes' through which semen could pass. (If it's not completely healed, we wouldn't be cleared but further time and/or treatment would be required.) Scar tissue also forms during the early recovery period over the ends of the fallopian tubes, if they are still present, meaning they would no longer be able to function as a place for sperm and ovum to "hook up".
The already remote chances of sperm and egg uniting under the best of circumstances become orders of magnitude smaller - to the point that it virtually cannot happen.
There is not one documented legitimate case of an abdominal pregnancy after a hysterectomy where conception occurred several weeks or more post hyst.
There are, however, some pretty convincing looking hoax sites around on the internet, where supposedly real photos are posted in support of pregnancies that do not really exist. We have even investigated some of these sites and found that the photos are not authentic but rather are either altered or copied from other websites - not original to the person who posted them. Considerable energy has been devoted to calming the nerves of worried Hystersisters who were confused and frightened by these people and their fraudulent claims, both on the boards here and privately by emails and PM's.
I wonder about what kind of person would undertake to defraud the rest of the world in this manner. I think it's particularly cruel of them to try to do that here, where we have members who are grieving their inability to bear children and trying to accept it and move on. How can one move on if false hopes are dangled in one's face?
I'm not referring here to this thread, but to past situations... to offer explanation for why we feel this topic is a difficult one for many of our members.
I hope I haven't created more questions than I've answered here... I just wanted to explain why we (or at least I) cringe when I see this topic on the boards again. Y'all couldn't have known that, of course
... but I hope this puts it to rest.
s,
-Linda
Is it possible? Pregnancy after Hyst.?
