Laparotomy and D and C

Hi ladies. My name is Judy and l live in Southwestern Michigan area. I am scheduled to have a laparotomy soon and was wondering if any of you have had similiar surgery. I was diagnosed (so far) with fibroids, irregular periods, and possible adhesions from previous surgery. Please respond.
Thank you.
Judy
(new to site)

Do you mean laparoscopy? Which is done for several reasons. It gives your doctor a direct view of your reproductive organs. which can help him/her dignose a problem or find what's causing your symptons. Treatment sometimes is part of the same surgery.

Laparoscopy uses a long, slender tool called a laparoscope. The doctor inserts it and other surgical tools through small incisions. These incisions are made in the abdomen (lower belly). A tiny camera is attached to the laparoscope, which sends light into the body. The doctor then sees the reproductive organs on a monitor (tv screen). He/she can turn the laparoscope to look at these organs from many angles.

I just had a laparoscopic myomectomy, and hysteroscopy w/ a D&C. One 5cm pedunculated fibroid was removed, I will have a UAE, uterine artery embolization (cutting off the blood supply to the fibroids which causes them shrink ). I checked that morning as was home by 3 pm, I'm one week post-op and getting ready to schedule the UAE. Hope this helps...

Thank you for your fast reply and info. I guess what I am really wanting to know is how much pain, if any, were you in after the surgery? And how long was your hospital stay?
as ever,
Judy

Hi Judy and welcome

We'll do our best to provide support and information - but, like Crugee13 has asked, we need to know if your surgery really is going to be a "laparotomy" as you state in your first post, or will it be a "laparoscopic" procedure?

Recovery and pain are VERY different, depending on which of these surgical approaches is used. With "laparotomy" you will have a larger abdominal incision - normally several inches. Surgeries with large abdominal incisions generally require at least one night's stay in the hospital and there is more pain, although the medical staff do their best in terms of providing pain medication to keep you comfortable. Recovery from a large abdominal incision is typically 6 to 8 weeks.

A laparoscopic procedure is typically performed as an outpatient surgery so you normally don't need to spend the night at the hospital. Depending on the extent of your lap surgery, recovery can be several days or up to a week. Like Crugee13, I had a laparascopic myomectomy and this was an outpatient procedure. I only missed one week of work. As for pain, the first couple days were uncomfortable - you feel quite bloated from the gas they use to "inflate" your abdomen during the lap surgery. But the pain was not bad - particularly in comparison to my hyst surgery which was via an abdominal incision (laparotomy).

I hope this helps. Please let us know exactly what type of surgery you are having so that we can provide appropriate information and support, okay? I know these medical terms can be pretty daunting, but we're here for you and want to help.

Sending hugs your way.

Beth

This is what the doctor called it and explained to me that it would be a "one-day" deal. I would be only at the hospital for one day.
Thanks,
Judy

Hello,

I had an exploratory laparotomy. I had pelvic/mass tumor or ovarian cyst. I had several ultra sounds and at first they appeared small and then started to get bigger.

I had a D & C and Hysterscopy done in July. I had the first stage of Hyperplasia and my doctor said that the treatment for that was the D & C which I had. My reports on this all came back ok. too.

The cyst I had seemed to shrink after my D & C, but later started to grow again. So, that is when my Doctor suggested that I have the exploratory laparotomy.

I had this done 10-24-03. I had both tubes and ovaries removed and my appendix. The reports came back all benign and I am so thankful for that.

I wish you luck on your decision and recovery.

I had the laperoscopic surgery in September 03. They ended up cutting me across my lower abdomin also, but the incision from the lapero healed very quickly and with minimum pain. Best of luck!