LAVH: I have a few questions

Hi everyone,

I have been reading lots on here the last couple of days I love the site and all the information everyone is sharing, it is puting me at ease. But i have a few questions I dont know where to look for the answers, and it will be a few weeks before i see my doc agian. First Im not sure if my doc plans on taking my cervix as well. I have had abnormal paps for 0ver 10 yrs i want to say maybe 2 have ever been normal, and i was told i have HPV. So should I tell him to take the cervix as well? Also, I have had a history of oveary cysst rupturing, he is possibly taking 1 ovary and tube, I am going to ask him to to take the one with the cysst for sure. also he plans on LAVH, I read that it is a longer surgery than TAH, recomindations?!?! and which one has a less chance of nicking the bladder or bowel?

Also I am a big bath taker, i personally hate showers, and i know i wont be able to take a bath right away but how soon after surgery can i start to enjoy my bath's agian?

thanks for any information!!

Benham -

I'm sorry to hear you have to have surgery. I can't give you recommendations on keeping or removing your cervix and the relationship to HPV. That is something I would definitely discuss iwth your doctor.

All hysterectomies regardless of how the surgery is done have a chance of nicking the bladder and bowel. I don't know that there is a % difference between them. It's because of how close the bladder, bowel and uterus are to one another.

The bath taking is several weeks, the internal stitches need to be healed so that bath water doesn't start any infections.

Check out the Hysterectomy Checkpoinnts https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/mycheckpoint.php that give you an idea of what you can do at various points in your recovery.



G.

I was told no baths for 6 weeks & that got extended to 8 weeks. Your internal stitches need to be healed so you don't get an infection.

The cervix is something you should discuss with your doctor. I had them take mine just so I didn't have to worry about mini periods or other problems down the road.

Best wishes to you!

whether to take the cervix or the ovaries is definitely something you should discuss with your dr... I believe that alot of it depends on the reason for the hysterectomy as well...

my Dr told me that he was taking the cervix and the reason being was that with endometrial tissue also making up the cervix it's very possible for fibroids to grow there after surgery... i want to avoid having to go back in to remove it later so i agreed with him on that... as for my ovaries we discussed it at length because i was concerned with some things i had read and heard from others about the high incidence of ovarian cancer after a hysterectomy...

my dr's thoughts on that are that my chances for breast cancer are higher (i'm extremely high risk for many reasons and my mother passed away as a result of bc last year) and if he takes the ovaries then we'd have to go with HRT and that has a higher chance of being linked to breast cancer... so His feelings are as long as the ovaries look good when He is in there they are staying... but He will take them if there is a look of disease on them

i know it's hard not knowing... i have a note card for my husband to have in his pants to ask two questions when the dr comes out to talk to him just in case i forget when i wake up ~lol~ cause i will want to know by the time i see my husband if the dr was able to do it LAVH and if i kept my ovaries...

good luck to you and keep track of your questions to bring to your next dr appt

If you're scheduled for a LAVH, it sounds like your doctor is planning to remove your cervix. Remember, the cervix isn't a seperate organ, but the lower part of the uterus. I agree with the others, that you should discuss it with your doctor.

You can read about the different types of hysterectomies here. It will give you a better idea of the differences between hysterectomy types.

As for taking baths, that will depend on what your doctor tells you. I wasn't allowed to take a bath, swim, or get into the hot tub until he released me which was 6 weeks post-op. It varies among us, so be sure to ask your doctor.

Best wishes!



Deb