20+ Fibroids AND kept my uterus - Anyone else?

I had an open abdominal myomectomy on Friday afternoon ( now almost 3 days post-op).

My surgery ended up being MUCH bigger than anticipated, due to many, many fibroids that were undetectable on ultrasound because of size and location.

My surgeon had anticipated removing 4 fibroids during a 2 hour surgery, but instead she removed 28 over the course of almost 4 hours! She said one was the size of an orange, a few were golf ball sized, and a bunch were grape sized.

So, first of all, if your doctor acts like a high number of fibroids must immediately result in hysterectomy, get a second opinion!!

Secondly, has anyone else had 20+ fibroids removed successfully? I'm kind of in shock that there were that many in there, and I'm wondering how many others are in my situation. I'm also only 31, so I worry that the high number of fibroids at this age means that I'm in for another myo in the future . . . .

Thanks for sharing your story. I am scheduled for a myomectomy on May 29th hoping to save my uterus!! I have multiple fibroids as well, submucous, intramural and subserosal. Too many ObGyns are quick to pull the trigger for a hysterectomy. They are lazy (IMO) and do not want to put in the time and effort in trying other options before removing our organ. A hysterectomy done with the Davinci only takes 30 to 50 mins, when the removal of the fibroids is much more cumbersome, lengthy and tedious. Trust me, I went to 4 doctors before I found an experienced and trained doctor.

This website gives great information on hysterectomies, however most of the stories you read are from women you had the surgery within the last weeks to few months. I want to hear the testimonies from women that are 2 to 8 years post op, long term results. The uterus is used for more than just procreating.

If my fibroids return, then I will try UFE and last resort hysterectomy.

I wish you success with your upcoming myomectomy. I just wanted to clear up the perception of a 30-50 minute Davinci and doctors doing them because they are lazy. My Davinci took 7 hours, while a myomectomy would have been a much shorter surgery for me and my surgeon. I truly understand your wish to preserve your uterus and am glad you are able to do so.

Francita,

Good luck with your myo!! I know that one of mine was pendunculated, three were intramural, and 24 were a surprise. lol So, I'm not sure what those were; I'd assume a mix.

One of the many things that sold me on my surgeon was the fact that, with her, the default assumption was that I would be keeping my uterus unless I wanted otherwise. In one of my pre-ops with her, she told me that she had never converted a myomectomy to a hysterectomy and didn't see that being a risk with my surgery. When I found out that she removed 24 more fibroids than anticipated, I felt SO incredibly lucky that she was my surgeon. There are too many doctors out there who would have converted to a hysterectomy based on the complexity and length of the surgery, and I'm endlessly grateful that my surgeon operates on the assumption that the uterus should be saved unless it really can't be avoided.

Husker, the previous poster mentioned that DaVinci hysterectomies take 30-50 minutes, not myomectomies. However, laparascopic procedures and minimally invasive procedures are not recommended for women with intramural and/or large numbers of fibroids. Also, for women who want to bear children in the future, the uterus can be better repaired through an open procedure.

I am six weeks out from a davinci myomectomy and I had eight fibroids removed and maybe 6 or more small areas burned off that were trying to grow. My doctor was completely understanding of my desire to keep my uterus. Like you I feel like new fibroids are likely since I had so many but I am 41 so I am hoping if they do grow they won't get big enough to require treatment before menopause. Even if they do I would have a myo again...for me the possibilities of prolapse, sexual issues, early menopause, and vaginal cuff problems were more than I was wiling to risk. I felt if my uterus was healthy other than the fibroids just take out the bad stuff and leave the good stuff alone. I feel so much better having them all out and my stomach is so much smaller (the doc said he removed almost a pound of fibroids). There are options for removal even with a lot of fibroids and big ones (two of mine were grapefruit size).
Ivy

I did. I had 19 removed in 2010. Initially they told me with ultrasound that I only had 4 and they weren't that big. But I had bleeding for two months so that warranted coverage under my insurance.

Lo and behold, they open me up and they are 19 ! I couldn't help but feel some kind of way about it.

I feel they may be back BUT, I am going to try a different method this time. Why doctors don't bother to check out hormones baffles me. I'm peri-menopausal and I have the same heavy periods. Instead of cutting out my uterus and throwing it away, I am going to try balancing my hormones first. Fibroids flourish in estrogen.

I support anyone who gets relief and health from a hysterectomy, but I want to try a less invasive approach first.

Well, I had one fibroid and I did lose my uterus. I was told the size of my fibroid made it technically more challenging to remove, and that fibroids may develop even after this procedure. And they do in 20 to 40% of women. That played into my final decision. In the end, my one fibroid was the size of a 2 liter bottle and growing across the front of my uterus attached by two blood vessels.
I don't know if I should have tried the procedure to remove it or not.

I only had one fibroid however it was huge! I did keep my uterus but it was not easy as fibroid was discovered at age 48 and I was only given the option of a hysterectomy because of my age. The argument I heard more than once is the insurance payout for a myo and a hysterectomy is the same or similar. Since saving my uterus for pregnancy was not my case I was only given a choice of a hysterectomy by 5 docs. The 6th listed all my options including ufe and I did that. It has been a slow process but I'm finally seeing results and still have my uterus.

Mine was like yours! Its fruit equivalent was a pineapple. Yikes. It was right in front too. It grew 2cm the last year. I had UFE but shrinking has been slow and sometimes painful. Finally at almost 2 years I'm seeing big changes. To cope with the time I went back to school. No matter what choice we make fibroids are horrible!

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Originally Posted by Niborhood1 Well, I had one fibroid and I did lose my uterus. I was told the size of my fibroid made it technically more challenging to remove, and that fibroids may develop even after this procedure. And they do in 20 to 40% of women. That played into my final decision. In the end, my one fibroid was the size of a 2 liter bottle and growing across the front of my uterus attached by two blood vessels. I don't know if I should have tried the procedure to remove it or not.

Just wanted to give you all an update. I was having issues last year with heavy bleeding and my doctors told me it was a polyp. I had it removed and had only slight relief. I went back to my old doctor who did my myomectomy in 2010. She found a fibroid the size of a baby's head. I decided to go ahead with a hysterectomy. The ufe would not stop them from coming back and it may not shrink the ones I have completely. I could envision shrunken tumors just hanging off my uterus.

I had the surgery a few weeks ago. My doc took pictures. It was a mess in there ! Scar tissue everywhere ! Too many fibroids to count ! My cervix was stretched and unrecognizable. Literally, it was a mess. I got to keep one ovary.

I'm still recovering but I'm hoping that my life will be improved after all I have been through.