Vaginal Cuff Bleeding 2 week post-op

A week ago Friday I was rushed to the hospital at 4am. I got up to go to the bathroom and thought I was peeing all over myself. Turned the light on and realized it was blood. It was pouring like a faucet. Then clots as big as mens fists started coming out too. I was sure the cuff was completely open.
Ambulance didn't take me to my normal hospital. They didn't want to risk driving that far with the amount of blood I was loosing. By the time I arrived to the ER they had estimated 1 liter of blood lost. Blood pressure dropped to almost nothing and they couldn't even check me to see where the blood was coming from.
4 hours later I was finally stable enough (2bags of blood and tons of fluid) for surgery. Another bag of blood during g surgery and they determined that all stitches were intact!! The bleeding must have come from a tiny vessel that had come away from a stitch in the cuff once it had started to heal.
This was a freak thing that happened that I did nothing wrong to make happen. I had been so careful doing everything I was supposed to do.
I just want women to be aware of this. I had the davinci robotic surgery and apparently the stitching isn't as "good" as the abdominal kind. This is why docs give you an 8 week no sex rule.
I have never been so scared in my life but am so thankful that God kept me here a while longer

I am so sorry you've had to go through what you did. I started bleeding heavy around the 2nd week and did not know about vaginal cuff until I called the nurse. Fortunately, I took things extremely easy after that and the bleeding went back to normal.

Your post reminded me that so often those of us who have the dvh, think we should be up and going in a few days. Not realizing that our insides are like anyone else's and take several weeks to heal. Please ladies, use caution and take it ever so easy. Just because the outside seems fine, does not mean your insides are fine. Be careful lifting. 6 wks is nothing compared to the rest of your life and it is really nothing compared to an emergency surgery like newlady12 underwent.

Newlady -

I am so sorry to hear that you had this happen to you. I can't imagine the fear of that moment. I am sure your Dr. will watch things even more closely since you had this complication.

You mentioned that "the bleeding must have come from a tiny vessel that had come away from a stitch in the cuff once it started to heal" This is a complication that can happen regardless of the type of the surgery. There are women on here who have had it happen from both types of surgery. I popped a stitch and experienced some bleeding but not to the extent that you did. This is why in one of our post-op articles "when to call your Dr" we list soaking a pad in an hour or less is a reason to get to the ER. The 8 week nothing in the vagina rule has nothing to do with whether the surgery is abdominal or laproscopic. It is meant to give your body time to heal before you subject it to the stress of intercourse.

In the early days of daVinci surgery the surgeons did find that they needed to use a different stitching technique and different sutures. So now you sometimes hear they use a "barbed" suture to prevent vaginal cuff tears.

I am so glad that you are okay and that you are now on the road to recovery. May you continue with an uneventful recovery.

I had Davinci total hysterectomy and bladder sling on 7-27-12. I was told no lifting and the other normal things and nothing inside for 6 weeks. I had no problems whatsoever. I was told possible light bleeding at 4 weeks but didn't have anything. Only had light bleeding for one day post-op. I did a lot of walking but nothing strenuous. I went back to work at 5 weeks. I did have probably THE BEST doctor who performs Davinci as well as trains other doctors. I think that is the key. Not all doctors are as experienced and as they continue to do the surgery they only get better. All surgery comes with risks. I hate that all the stuff happened to you but it could have been the same result with any type.

Thank you for sharing your story. This exact scenario happened to me a couple years ago - twice. I had to have 2 cone biopsies because they didn't get all the CINIII/CIS with the first biopsy. They first time, my doc was able to patch me up in her office. The second time we had to call 911 and I was rushed in for emergency surgery. I was passing newborn-sized clots. All from a tiny little spot that had clotted, and then it broke free and opened the flood gates. I've never had a bleeding problem or clotting issue before. The good news is that it made me and my doc take extra precautions before my hystero.

I was wondering if you're a redhead? My doc said redheads naturally bleed more than others, and that is the only reason she could find that caused my problems.

I totally agree this could happen with any surgery. The second surgeon just gave an explanation that the da vinci uses a different technique with the cuff stitching and that was possibly what could have caused it. He did not really have a "reason" since the stitches were intact and couldn't find the actual source of bleeding other than it was somewhere in the cuff. He did assure me that he stitched me up really good this time though so I have just been praying!
And no, I am not a redhead although I have one I have noticed that it does take a while to stop bleeding once I have blood taken though. All I know is that I pray nobody else goes through this. Its horrible!!

Thank you for sharing. It is always good to be informed of what could possibly happen in these types of situations. So sorry you had to experience that. Sending prayers and well wishes your way