vaginal or abd. hysterectomy

I was wondering if you girls out there feel that a vaginal hysterectomy is a faster recovery than an abdominal hyster. Also what was the length of hospital stays?

Hi Soccer,

Have you possibly looked into a laparoscopic surgery??

The two surgeries I see most often are a LAVH (Laparoscopic Assisted Vaginal Hysterecomy) and a LSH (Laparoscopic SurpraCervical Hysterectomy), which I had.

I was very pleased with my lap surgery. Had my surgery at an outpatient facility and went home the same night. Within two weeks I was out and about doing my normal routine. Just took it slow. And at 6 weeks, I got a greenlight for all activities, including sex.

Best wishes.

Hi It's fairly unusual to have a choice. I think that the best type of surgery is the one your DR feels is better suited to the condition you're having the surgery for. For example, I had a severe prolapse, and to try anything other than a vaginal surgery would have been foolish. Ladies with cancer and endo most often have abdominal surgeries with fairly large incisions so the DR can get a clear view of everything in the pelvic cavity.

There are some great links comparing the different types of hysterectomy in our Resources directory (click on Resources in the banner at the top of any page on this site to go there), in the Options and Alternatives section.

The average hospital stay for most types of hysterectomy is one to two nights, barring complications. Occasionally women are discharged earlier, most often from laparascopic surgeries.

The recovery time is really the same for any type of hysterectomy -- six to eight weeks for the preliminary recovery period and six months to a year for full recovery. However, depending on the type of surgery performed, some women feel great much earlier than that... this is not necessarily a good thing, in my DR's opinion. She says she sees more women with the less invasive procedures for complications later on because they tend to overdo things too early in their recovery, as they don't have a big incision to remind them to take things slowly.

What kind of surgery is your DR suggesting for you?

s,
-Linda

I don't know what it's like in the US but in Australia most women have a choice as to what mode their surgery will take place unless there are too many variables making abdominal surgery the best option.

When I first went to my surgeon, I firstly made sure that this surgeon was experienced in laparoscopic surgery as I have a friend who's mother went through 5 specialists before deciding on the surgeon I visited because the first few were Ob/Gyn's who didn't specialise in laparoscopic surgery i.e. they were only comfortable going the abdominal route.

That said, sometimes abdominal surgery is the optimum way to go and it usually depends on the size of your uterus/fibroids/ extent of the endo etc...

I found that although I was allowed to go home the day after surgery I stayed as long as I felt necessary (5 days) then rested at home gradually increasing my activity during my recovery process. Whether or not you have an abdominal/lap/vaginal procedure you still have alot of work done internally and the stitches on the inside are the same - requiring the same recovery time. Although if you've had a vaginal/lap hysterectomy you don't have a large external wound to worry about.

I was given a choice - the doctor said that I would recovery quicker with a vaginal than abdominal. He said that the only reason he could see to go through my abs was if I wanted to keep my cervix (didn't care either way on that). He mentioned that since I was having repairs done as well I might as well have all the pain in one spot!

I too was given the choice, actually the surgery itself was my choice since there was no life threatening cause for it....Doctor explained that the recovery period for a LAVH was usually much shorter than an abdominal surgery... I choose that one and went home the next day and to work the next week and cleared for all activities at 3 weeks........

Research it and with your doctors advice make the decsion for whats best for you.............

I was disappointed and relieved at the same time when my dr. said last week that he could not do a vaginal hys. because my uterus was suspended too well and he would not be able to pull it down without some trouble. Disappointed because he had told me the recovery time was quicker (only because of not having the incision across the belly), but also was fearful of them actually going thru the vagina to get it....

Dear soccer:

I had a vaginal hyst for prolapse and was home in time for lunch the next day. My doc approved 6 weeks off from my desk job, but after some complications, I took a bit longer to return to work.

Ultimately, we only get to have ONE hyst, so it's difficult for a gal to compare the two procedures firsthand

The type of surgery you have will depend on your diagnosis AND your doc's level of surgical skills. My doc #2 had much more cutting & pasting in mind for me than doc #3.

Get smart about your symptoms and your options, and make the best choice for YOU. I am sending huge cyberhugs