Did you get a second opinion?

I had already had 2 D&C's, an endometrial biopsy, colposcopy with cone biopsy, and 3 ultrasounds--it was time.

No second opinions were needed as I landed in the emergency room with a twisted fibroid that was the size of a large grapefruit. I knew I had fibroids but not that I had 13 which is what they found! In reading the survey results from your question (so far today), I am really surprised to hear that so few hysterectomies were emergency based like mine. I guess I assumed it would be more common. At any rate, a second opinion was not needed in my case. By the way, my husband and I flew to Thailand to get the operation done there. It was an incredibly positive experience going there,(except for the surgery which is hard to look at in that light on the best of days!).

Yes, I got a second opinion, and he agreed with my regular OB-GYN doc, then I got a third opinion, and he was the one that offered me the LAVH. I'm so glad I kept looking. 3 weeks post-op I feel good, have lost 10 #, and am almost back to my old walking routine. At my 2 week check up, my Dr. said I would have still been having trouble getting out of bed at that point, if I'd had a TAH.

My gyn was the person that found the cancer after a D&C hysteroscopy. There was no indication he was going to find anything. He was all TAH BSO and I wanted to see if there was something less invasive. I was able to get to a surgical gyn / onc that does the da Vinci procedure and I was a candidate. I'm 8 days post surgery and really, really glad that I found this procedure, it was a LAVH BSO - da Vinci but it was much less invasive.

I chose not to get a second opinion. My physician cited her reasons for hysterectomy versus other procedures, and I agreed. I am a nurse, who has had patients with these conditions. With my strong family history, and my biopsy results, I wanted the hysterectomy!

I had more than one dr tell me I needed a hysterectomy. I am glad I went to more than one ddr. I know I needed the surgery and am better off.

Tophatt10

While I didn't get a second opinion, I really had no choice. I had a 14 inch fibroid tumor in my ovary which they were pretty sure was no cancerous, but they weren't 100% sure. I was having severe endometrial issues and bleeding about 25 days out of the month- heavily. I had fibroids outside of my uterous also. But, I could not convince the docs to take my ovaries because of my age. I had a stroke related to my first pregnancy so I wasn't a prime candidate for hormone replacement therapy. I had my hyst almost 2 and a half years ago but ended up having my ovaries removed in September along with my colon resection due to Stage 3 colon cancer. The surgeon told me that they problably should have came out earlier as they were a mess.

I guess I'm just one of the lucky few who went to the GYN because of unusual and massive bleeding and got taken to the castle in a wheelchair directly from my GYN's office. (I'm being facitious.) Yah - being wheeled across the parking garage to the hospital was a special treat! I went from GYN's office to ICU to surgery in only 2 days. Is that a record?

On the positive side - I didn't have to go through preop jitters, self-doubt, or getting my house in order before surgery. I only had to become an instant princess!

I, too, am surprised how few were emergencies. Having had no gynocological problems before, I just assumed most women were just like me. Boy was I wrong.

My TAH is scheduled for 12/12 and I didn't get a second opinion because it was my decision to have it done. I only wish I'd done it back in August when my fibroids were ping-pong ball sized and I could've had a TVH. My ob/gyn mentioned hysterectomy back then (only as an option - never any pressure) but I chose to wait and see. Now the largest is volleyball sized and the top of my uterus is level with my navel. My dr. has never coerced me into anything and I've done enough research on my own to feel comfortable about having it done without another opinion. I'm looking forward to getting it over with!

In my situation, a 2nd opinion saved me from having a bigger cut and a longer recovery. I am a strong proponent of getting a 2nd opinion, especially if your OB//GYN tells you that your fibroid & uterus are too large to do anything other than a total hyst. This doc, whom I trusted told me that I would have to have a very large cut due to the size. A friend got me to see her surgeon who is an expert in doing hyst laparoscopically, regardless of size. He gave me 80-85% chance that he would be able to do so. I am so happy that I took these odds as everything went as planned. I have 4 tiny cuts and 1 2in cut where he had to use a morcellator (drill) to cut up my uterus and fibroid into strips in order to remove it laparoscopically. I am thrilled with the smaller incisions, a shorter recovery time and the overall results. Never felt better!