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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
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11-14-2004, 07:29 AM
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Guest
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Posts: 105
Hysterectomy: November 22nd, 2004
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
Now that I've made the decision for an SAH and set the date, I've found I still have more decisions to make!
I told my doctor emphatically I did not want him to take my ovaries although he advised doing so for prophylactic reasons (I'm willing to live with my 1.5-2% chance of getting ovarian cancer).
So he said, "How about this... I take out only your right ovary. Then, in the future, if you have pain on your right side, we look into appendix & other stuff, and if you have pain on your left side, we look at the ovary first."
I said, "then why don't you just take out my appendix, or my appendix AND my right ovary" and he said he sure, he could do either of these things (assuming my insurance co. will cover it).
So although I am unalterably opposed to removing both ovaries, I know that you only need one ovary. I'm thinking it's not a bad idea to let him remove one ovary -- kind of splitting the difference on risk & making future diagnois easier.
Anybody got any wisdom on this?
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11-14-2004, 09:08 AM
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Guest
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Posts: 2,054
Hysterectomy: February 19th, 2002
Surgery Type: TAH
Ovaries: Removed both
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
Hi Lizpagan
Well just my but I believe it is usually a good idea to keep both healthy ovaries, unless of course there is a medical reason to remove them such as cancer or endometriosis. If there is no family history of ovarian cancer, then why even remove one.
In the past medical professionals use to believe just take it all, this reduces the risk of this cancer and that cancer, but This is not true anymore. I think you should leave everything that is not diseased and IF and when there is a problem down the road, you can decide how to deal with it If a problem arises.
Here are some articles on ovarian cancer. You can probably find a risk factor to developing ovarian cancer in one of the articles.
https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/lin...n=browse&cid=7
Here is another article about leaving the ovaries.
http://www.drmirkin.com/women/W126.htm
Just my opinion of course but the appendix and both ovaries should remain intack unless there is a medical reason to remove them.
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11-14-2004, 09:34 AM
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Posts: 4,793
Hysterectomy: April 22nd, 2004
Surgery Type: LSH
Ovaries: Kept 1 or both
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
Hi Liz,
I was 46 at the time of my surgery last April and I opted to keep both ovaries since they were healthy.
I agree with Troubled Tabby. If your Dr. cannot give you a good medical resaon, why remove one?? I think of that old saying,"if it isn't broke, why fix it??
I read on H.S. that the ovaries secrete hormones for the bones, skin and hair. Down to the last drop. So, in my book, an important reason to leave them be, if you are a candidate.
Best wishes. The ovary question is a very personal decision.
Mary
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11-14-2004, 11:51 AM
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Guest
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Posts: 961
Hysterectomy: August 5th, 2004
Surgery Type: SAH
Ovaries: Kept 1 or both
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
Your chances of getting ovarian cancer actually go down after a hysterectomy - from 1 in 80 to 1 in 300!
Your doctor's advice on taking them out to avoid ovarian cancer is outdated and his insistence that you consider it is troubling if you have no history of ovarian/colon/breast cancer in your family.
If you have no history of cysts or endo, there is no good reason for him to want to remove your ovaries. Ovaries are too valuable to your overall health and yours may have another ten years of pre-menopausal levels in them.
Read over the info that TroubledTabby posted, there are some great resources there that will fortify you for your next discussion with your doctor. It's not too late to get a second opinion if his insistence makes you uncomfortable.
Take care.
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11-16-2004, 02:35 PM
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Guest
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Posts: 866
Hysterectomy: September 17th, 2004
Surgery Type: TAH
Ovaries: Removed both
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
http://www.asrm.org.Literature/Menopausal_Medicine/menoarchive.html
This is a link to a really good article that makes a very good case for conservation of ovaries at any age. Particularly for anyone premenopausal.
Scroll down the page to the Fall 1999 newsletter.
If I had read this prior to my recent surgery, which was complicated by a sutured ureter. I would not have had the surgery! Period. I did not really want it and feel that I was scared into it. I wish I had done more homework.
I realize that many women do not have the choice because they have serious health problems. Elective surgery is a whole different ballgame. My opinion of drs. is what they recommend has alot to do with when and where they were educated. They seem to have a very cavalier attitude towards our body parts.
Most seem to think that when you hit menopause you are done with your ovaries. Some even are aware that women with oophorectomies have lower avg. hormone levels when not replaced but say well we don't really know or think it makes a difference. Well it seems to me that if we don't know the significance we should not be recommending to pull out healthy functioning tissue.
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11-16-2004, 02:49 PM
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Guest
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Posts: 105
Hysterectomy: November 22nd, 2004
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
Thanks everybody.
I've decided after weighing the options (again) including talking to a friend who's a hospital chaplain (it's her business to help patients make decisions) that I will not go for any "add-ons" (or, "take-offs" might be a better way to say it).
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11-16-2004, 07:01 PM
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Guest
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Posts: 2
Hysterectomy:
Surgery Type: TAH
Ovaries: Removed both
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ovary(ies) in or out? appendix?
I had endometriosis, so my ovaries had to go. Actually, one was taken in an earlier surgery (I tried too many times to get my insides "repaired" and one time, one tube and ovary were past help). If your ovaries are removed, you will have surgical menopause, which is apparently much more "abrupt" than natural menopause, but menopause is something that we all face one day. I know a woman who had her uterus removed because of fibroids, but between her MD and her then-husband, she was not permitted to have her ovaries removed (she wanted them out). About ten years later, her ovaries became massively enlarged (bigger than oranges) and she had to have major surgery again to take out the ovaries she wanted removed the first time around.
If you have your ovaries removed, you will have hot flashes while healing from major surgery, but the worst of them are while you're on your six weeks of recovery, which is easier than dealing with them at work. I got a couple of the little six-inch electric fans and put small screws to hang them in places around the house: where I dried my hair, blowing on my side of the bed, where I sat watching TV, in the kitchen, etc. Depending on finances, you can get away with one or two fans, no matter how many places you need to put them. I took one to work when I went back at the end of my six-week "vacation." I kept a dish towel or wash cloth around for the days I was perspiring heavily; a damp one is nice when you're feeling really hot.
Before each of my surgeries (I had six, including the hysterectomy/ oophrectomy), I asked if the surgeon would take my appendix out, to avoid any future surgery that could be avoidable. I had several doctors tell me they didn't remove healthy organs (I also had an insurance company that was a nightmare, and they wouldn't have paid for an appendectomy). Three and a half years after my hysterectomy, I was doubled over in pain and covered with sweat. There's still no positive diagnosis for what caused the pain, but when it was decided that an exploratory laparoscope was indicated, I asked that surgeon if she would take out my appendix. After the surgery, the surgeon said there had been a lot of adhesions (not a surprise -- some folks never have a problem with them and some of us grow them very well indeed), and while my appendix looked OK, she removed it, and it was sent to pathology with whatever else was sent. (Adhesions are usually burned off with a laser, so there's not always something to send to the lab.) When the pathology report came back, my appendix, which looked fine from the outside, was ready to go bad. If the doctor had not removed the appendix the day she did, she would have had to take it out within the week.
I guess my advice is to have your ovaries removed or not, whichever you are comfortable with -- it is YOUR body. When I first started having serious "female" problems, I went through a number of GYNs -- both male and female. Finding a competent doctor was one of the hardests parts of the whole nightmare. Do not be shy about firing a doctor. You are hiring them to improve your health. If they cannot or will not help, or they try to tell you that you're not really in pain, that it's all in your head, or if they make jokes about your pain, get out of there. I went to one woman who is written up as one of the best OB/GYNs in the DC area every year in a prominent local magazine. While the magazine editors think she's a good doctor, other GYNs in the area think she shouldn't be allowed to have sharp things. I found out the hard way that she is not a skilled surgeon. Do not hesitate to change doctors if you're not getting answers or you're not comfortable with the doctor. There are plenty of doctors around, and some of them are very good. Be sure you are comfortable with and have confidence in the person you allow to cut you open. The healing process after surgery by a skilled surgeon is dramatically faster than that after surgery by an unskilled doctor. Be just as careful about the hospital you will be staying in -- talk to patients who have spent the night, or several nights, in the hospital. DON'T take the word of a magazine editor who has never been hospitalized.
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11-16-2004, 08:21 PM
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Hostess Mentor Team
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Posts: 10,588
Hysterectomy: April 12th, 1999
Surgery Type: TVH
Ovaries: Kept 1 or both
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Let him take one ovary? The appendix?
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11-17-2004, 01:32 AM
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Guest
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Posts: 2
Hysterectomy:
Surgery Type: TAH
Ovaries: Removed both
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to lizpagann re: "add-ons"
I'm glad you've made your decision. You are the person who has to live with it, and you have no need to explain why you've made your decision to anyone.
All in all, it's not a particularly rough surgery (as surgeries go), but DO NOT push yourself to return to your full schedule until your body is ready. You are not being lazy. Your body needs time to recover -- make sure you give it as much time as you can.
Good luck. Once you heal, you will feel much better and you will be glad you've done it. And not having periods is wonderful!
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