LAVH: LAVH and BSO for Ovarian Dermoids???

Hello ladies!

God bless y'all for what you're going through.

I am barely into my 40's and am scheduled for LAVH and BSO due to some ugly, toothy, ovarian dermoids. I have ZERO symptoms. They were an incidental finding on an MRI. Follow up CT scans and ultrasounds also suggest dermoids.

I have had more than one "second opinion" and they're all the same. "Why keep the uterus if you don't need it." or "At your age..." As a woman and a member of the medical community, I, of course, completely disagree. My beloved DH is ready to knock me over the head and drag me into the OR himself.

Any thoughts or experiences with BSO and keeping the uterus? I much prefer a "field experience" over a classroom lesson.

I understand the HRT is more complex with this. Is it worth it? Childbirth has already set me up for prolapse. I deliver bobble headed linebackers.

After several months of debating with myself, and my amazingly tolerant gyn oncologist, I signed the papers to have everything and then some removed strictly based on what they find. If he has to cut me, I don't want to wake up, verify, and repeat. I also told him to one stop shop it if it's messy and remove the appendix and gallbladder too! Clearly, I don't do surgery very well.

I don't think I mind losing my girly bits. We were blessed fertility wise and are all done with that. What I very much DO mind is the hormone loss. Every day, there is new evidence linking "natural hormones" to heart/brain/bone/lung protection. It terrifies me.

As someone who has an occasional severe migraine with aura, what if I can't take the ERT???

Anyone else traveled this road before me???

Hi hm3 - My story is similar to yours except that mine involved a possible cancer, so my surgery was performed by an oncology surgeon. Initially, I had some tumors on a left ovary which were questionable but my regular doc decided he could perform the surgery. We had one final ultrasound and actually saw those tumors change, so there I went to the oncologist.

I had the same type of conversation. Why remove the uterus and cervix if you don't need to? Why remove the other ovary if it is okay? And I got a lot of the same answers. I do have a family history of breast cancer, AND I have a history of migraine with aura which I believe was started by taking birth control pills for 3 months. So I, too, am not necessarily a candidate for HRT. My husband agreed with the surgeon - take it all out so we don't ever have to worry about cancer. But it was a hard sell for me. I agree - they have not done enough research about our hormones, what organs make what hormones, and are there any other hormones out there that we don't know about that protect us in older age.

I am 49 years old and have been perimenopause for 2 years. I have also had a grapefruit sized fibroid for about 5 years - and I resisted all attempts at removing it because I had no symptoms other than peeing a lot.

We asked the surgeon, "If this were your mother/wife/sister, what would you do." He immediately responded to take it all. So that is what we decided.

Funny that you mentioned the migraine with aura - I just learned that yesterday from my GP. I saw my surgeon on Wednesday and then my GP Thursday. Surgeon wants me to take estrogen, even though I told him of my migraines. GP told me that estrogen is "relatively contraindicated" for women with migraines that have aura. Good job on your research! And good luck with your decision.

Hi hm3 -

I lost it all at age 46, and surgical menopause for me was very rough and MISERABLE. I went to my GP and said HELP! I am on low-dose oral estrogen, and it gave me my life back. She said I was too young for menopause and that being on the estrogen was better for my health.

I have read that your ovaries continue to produce small amounts of estrogen even in menopause, and that estrogen does have protective affects. I know that there is much scary information out there, but discuss your concerns with your doctor. We have several articles on the matter that you might want to read through:

Menopause and Hormones Articles List

Make the decision that is right for you.