Confused/Concerned wrt A&P repairs

My surgery will be done by a urogyn. When I had my initial appt. with him, after doing a pelvic exam he said I have a Grade 2 uterine prolapse (he uses only 3 Grades) and that my uterus is starting to take my bladder down with it. He also made a comment like..yes, things are starting to fall in there.

I am approx. 12 yrs. post-menopausal and having never taken HRT, I am assuming that my inners/pelvic floor are definitely weakened, hence my current condition.

Fortunately, I do not have an incontinence problem, nor any problems with BM's and he was pleased to hear that and said it was a good sign.

As for surgery, he said he will be doing a TVH, suspend the bladder back to where it should be (he said that fortunately it hasn't been brought down too much yet), and A & P repairs. Herein lies my concern and confusion....

When I asked why the A & P repairs, I am almost positive he said that they would 'help to tighten things up' . It's been several weeks since my appt. with him and the more I try to remember everything, the more I confuse myself. I do know for sure that he never mentioned the words cystocele and rectocele.

I guess my big question is: For those of you who are having or have had A&P repairs, what reason were you given and should I be concerned if he did not use those two magic words?

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much, sisters.

Hi Lia,

In my case, my doctor used the terms cystocele and rectocele interchangeably with A & P. She wrote down hysterectomy with A&P repairs on the hospital paperwork, and at my pre-op appointment at the hospital, the nurse asked me if I knew what A & P stood for and what the doctor would be doing. I described it to the nurse as best as I could (anterior and posterior repairs for prolapses of my bladder (cystocele) and of my bowel (rectocele) ) and she said that was correct. The repairs also do tend to "tighten things up", and I remember the pre-op nurse sort of teasing about it as I was being put to sleep.

But, having said that, I think if I were you that I'd call the urogyn's office tomorrow and ask to speak with him to clarify what he told you earlier, since he really is the only one who can tell you for sure what he plans to do.

Please let us know what you find out.

s

Hi ya hun,

I'm having pretty much the same surgery as KDeit. With additionall attention being paid on the pelvic muscles. It seems that the doctor's helping hand with my 2nd preg and carrying twins to 37wks in my 3rd preg and delivering them both vaginally, really messed up my pelvic floor. I have a herinated (sp?) muscle and the lovely stess incontence (ugh!) along with every thing else heading south. I think my doc's favorite saying was that once all was said and done, I would be tight enough that sex would be like it was when I was younger, mind you that I'm not that old (just 32, will turn 33, 3 days after surgery). My DH really got a kick out of that one MEN!!!

If you have any questions or concerns, write them down and ask at the next appt, or if you need call your doc and ask. It never hurts, besides this is our body and we have the right to know the who, what, where, when, why and how.

's to ALL!!

Hi,
I'm having my uterus removed vaginally, keeping ovaries to best of my knowledge with cystecele and rectocele, says the doctor. When I came to this site, ladies called it TVH with A & P. My sister who has similar says words are all interchangeable. I started having problems only a month ago, with pain increasing as it gets closer and with activity. I agree not to hesitate to call doctors office, they shouldnt mind, they are there to serve us and hopefully want us informed. So far my docs office has been great when I call with ??. Take care and keeping checking in here, its a great place with Awesome ladies!

Thanks for words of wisdom, sisters.

I did go ahead and call doc's office but, wouldn't you know it, he's on vacation this week.

I have my pre-op appt. at the hospital this Friday and I'm sure they must have a report from him so I'm hoping I will be able to get a little clarification from them.

I'm also thinking that perhaps docs up here speak a different way than docs in the US. Maybe they just don't explain things in the same manner? You know....people do tend to say we Canucks speak funny.

I do have an appt. with the doc the day before my surgery, so I am writing things down as the days go by, just in case I'm still not totally clear on anything.

I did check him out and was pleased with what I found. I was also impressed with him during my visit, so I guess those are bonuses in my favour. Here's hoping...

's to all