da Vinci hysterectomy 1/20/12

I had battled with heavy menstrual bleeding for several years, with extreme pain, as most of us have. I had an ultrasound about 6 months ago that revealed a fibroid, so I finally decided to follow up with an OB/Gyn in December. At that time, he did an endometrial biopsy. When it came back as endometrial carcinoma, I was shocked to say the least. I am only 35, which is young for that diagnosis. When the staging returned as Stage 2, we scheduled my procedure. The da Vinci is VERY new at my local hospital, I was only the THIRD person to have it done that way. I had the utmost faith in my doctor, and being a nurse, I knew doctors that knew him on both a personal and professional level, so I was very comfortable being in his care. He was very thorough in giving me my options, and I feel that I made the best one. Going in to surgery, he was still optimistic about saving my ovaries, because he didn't want to take them unless he had to due to my age, and I also have antiphospholipid antibody, a clotting disorder that wouldn't allow me to be on hormone replacement.

I was in surgery for 3 1/2 hours, he spent extra time removing the endometriosis from my ovaries and managed to save them both. I was thrilled with the news when I woke up. I am still fresh post op, but I feel fairly good. I am glad I made the decision to go the da Vinci route, and I hope that I helped give the doctors more confidence in performing the procedure to help other women!