Abdominal or Vaginal?

Hello Ladies!
I am a new member and so far I am VERY impressed with all that I have read. This site is a tremendous support for women in need, and I'm glad I found you!

Forgive me if I am asking things that have been answered already, but I have done "some" reading and still have some questions.

1) I keep seeing "BSO" in signatures. What does that mean?

2) My Doc is suggesting abdominal surgery with an incision along my hairline. Here I have been reading about laparoscopy - how would the decision be made to do lap rather than an old fashioned incision? Is that something I can ASK him to do?
And how does this all differ from vaginal removal?

3) I have also been told to request a spinal rather than a general - is that something I am allowed to ask for, or is that the doc's choice? How might he make the choice for one over the other?

Ok... I think those are the biggies for now. As you can see, I am in the very early stages of learning. Anything you can tell me will be appreciated!

Thanks!
Kostar

Hi there and welcome

K..... BSO= bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy...... which means they remove both tubes and ovaries......

Laparoscopic Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy or LAVH is the vaginal hysterectomy where they do the majority of the work through a laparoscope, then remove the uterus, cervix through the traditional vaginal opening....... Some MDs like to do this, but it depends on why your are having the hysterectomy done..... sometimes with fibroids, they arent able to remove the uterus through the vagina because of the size of the fibroids...... We have the same sutures on the inside, just like women who have the abdominal incisions..... we just dont have the large incision on the outside, usually 3 or 4 tiny incisions is all we have....... according to some docs..... vaginal hysterectomies have a quicker healing time. You should talk to your MD about why he wants to do it abdominally and ask him if its possible to do it laparoscopically.

General vs Spinal......... if you have an LAVH you will have to have general because of the incisions are made higher on the stomach...... Alot of women here who had abdominal hysters have chosen the spinal for various reasons....... When you go for your pre-op you can talk to your Anesthsiologist and tell him you are interested in a spinal instead of general anesthesia.

Hope this had helped....... again welcome to the site...... Hope you find all the info you need..... and if you dont just ask....... someone will be along to answer the questions.


s

I had an abdominal hyst with a spinal - you can read every last detail by clicking the "www" button at the bottom of my post, if you want to.

If there is anything you think you might want - type of incision, type of anesthesia, keep/lose cervix, keep/lose ovaries, etc. go right ahead and ask your doctor about it, Either your doc will say "sure, why not", or will explain to you why that isn't the best option for you. It never hurts to ask.

I had a Laparoscopically Assisted Vaginal Hysterectomy and it was great.

I had the small incisions like they would do for the lap, the faster initial recovery and much less pain than women who have abdominals.

You should consider talking to your about an LAVH and see what he thinks of that option for you. He, afterall, would be the one that knows what will be best for you.

Please keep us posted

Sending Cyber your way........


Endo_Chic