February 25th!!

Hi. I'm a new member. My surgery is scheduled for February 25th. I have a prolapsed uterus which has caused a great deal of discomfort this past year. I can't wait to have it out. I just can't decide which approach to take for surgery--laparoscopy with vaginal incision, or tradition bikini line. Any suggestions? I have no problems with anesthesia, etc. I had decided on bikini incision, then read some horror stories. Now I'm reading up on the laparoscopy. I live in Hamilton, Ontario Canada.
P.S I can't ge the static smilies to work. Help!

My undertanding is that recovery from laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy takes alot less time, one third to one half the time of the more invasive bikini cut.

Because of the size of the ovarian cyst I had my doctor had planned for the bikini cut as an alternative if it turned out to be too large for the laparoscopic procedure.

The list of complications for laparoscope is a little longer, but complications are rare. They have to list all of them for their protection to show that you were informed. One of the nurses I talked to said if you had to sign something listing everything that could could possibly go wrong on your way to the hospital, store, work, or wherever, no matter how rare, you would be afraid to leave your house.

I did alot of research in the short time I had before surgery. Be careful where you are getting your information. There are alot of horror stories out there.

And before surgery is simply a frightening tiime, at least it was for me.

Also, ask your surgeon what he/she suggests in your case and why.

I had mine done 12/21/01 Almost a week ago! I am doing great with only minor complaints, already. I am still resting and recuperating, don't get me wrong. But for one week after surgery, I lookand feel really good!

Hello and welcome to Hystersisters Sue.

Here's a link that discusses smilies. The 4th post down explains how to set your control panel to use them.

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/sho...hlight=smilies

I had tah/bso with bikini incision...general anest...and didn't have any problems. Surgery and recovery went smooth.

Use search icon at the top and search by keywords for additional info...for instance "bikini" and "lavh"....either in pre-op or post-op pull down sections or both

I just wanted to clarify my earlier post a little bit.

I think you are allowed to do more sooner after surgery with the LAVH because you do not have the abdominal incision, and therefore, those particular muscles are not having to heal back together.

Anyway, my doctor seems to think there is a substantial difference.

I had laparoscopic hyst with a surgeon who does laparoscopic surgeries practically all the time. I am very happy with my surgery. Though I was back at work full-time by 4 weeks, it was exhausting and you may find you need the full recovery time just like most people. The difference, to me, in the lap surgery is that you feel better the first week after surgery. I was very peppy and practically had to staple myself to the bed.

Later on as the internal stitches began to dissolve and my ligaments had to start supporting my rearranged insides, I was just as tired and achey as anybody.

I would suggest you consider a laparoscopic hyst if you have a surgeon who is very, very good at them. And be sure to allow yourself the full recovery time. You may need it. Don't go telling too many people it's "just a laparoscopic hyst." They'll expect to see you go bowling in two weeks. And that ain't happening. With hysterectomy, most of the surgery is on the inside, anyway.

Good luck with your decision!

The difference between a LAVH and one with an abdominal incision is the presence or lack of an incision across the abdomen. The healing time from what I'm told is with vaginal, you heal about 2 weeks faster because you don't have the bigger external incision. You still have the same surgery going on on the inside & the same # of stitches there too. Any kind of surgery is invasive (invading the body). Also, with a lap, you're filled with gas so that it will allow the dr to visualize better and a light & scope is used. With my LAVH, I had 3 incisions on my tummy...1 at the belly button & one at each area near my ovaries. They healed quite nicely. I've had 2 C-sections (and I know a hyst is no comparison) and I'm glad I didn't have that hip to hip incision again. We all heal at different rates. Some may feel better much quicker than others, but no one's time of recovery is the rule, so don't let anyone tell you that you should be better as soon as they were or took a longer time like they did. It gets confusing. Just take your time at your own pace --- gradually! I thought I was Wonder Woman at 2 weeks because I was feeling so much better, but have paid for it the past week. If given the choice between which way to have it, my vote is vaginal.