TLH vs daVinci?

I have been putting off going to the castle for quite some time now. My local doc will to a TLH and try to leave my ovaries (He teaches at a med school and I don't have any real concerns about his abilities).

I may have the option to have a daVinci hysterectomy from another doctor if I want to do that.

I am wondering about MAJOR differences (in the two) in recuperation, complications, etc. I have other health issues (Addison;s disease, Fibromyalgia, Hashimoto's, and CFS), so I do have concerns about even having this done, but honestly I am more concerned about the anesthesia than I am the procedure at this point, because I live in pain and discomfort everyday.

The vomiting, pain and blood loss I have dealt with for years can't get much worse than it is now.

Because your biggest concern is anesthesia, I have a suggestion for you. Contact an anesthesiologist for an appointment and find out which surgery would be best for you from that perspective.

I would also recommend you talk to the doctors who manage your other health issues as those doctors may have some thoughts for you to consider that could affect which surgery or surgeon you choose.

You should also consider the skill of the surgeon regarding your specific gynecological issue. For instance, for my last surgery I wasn't so much interested in the type of surgery--open, lap, daVinci--as I was with the ability of the surgeon to completely eradicate the endometriosis I was dealing with. Thus, I chose an endo specialist and then went along with the surgical method he felt was best, making sure he was aware of my other health conditions.

There are pros and cons with both surgery types, so you will have to weigh them for you and your needs.

Sending best wishes to you as you make the right decision for you!

When I had the consult with the local doc, I made him call the anesthesiologist that he uses and we had a conference call due to my other health issues.

The physician treating my endocrine issues certainly wants me to do the least invasive thing I can, but honestly I don't really know that one is "more" invasive than the other.

It still might make me feel better about the whole thing if I went and sat down with the anesthesiologist and talked with him face to face. I can potentially have an adrenal crisis from the stress of the surgery, not to mention vomiting, etc.

The other thing I guess I need to think about is that the local hospital (while small) is 10 minutes from home; the other hospital and doctor (that does daVinci) is 2 hours one way....I have read that the ride home can be not so fun.......then there might be complications, follow-up appointments...........ok I am gonna go pull my hair out now.......

Thanks for the reply...............

(((fightinthebite)))

I know it can be hard to decide! I chose to have my last surgery 3 hours from home and the traveling wasn't too hot. Once released from the hospital, I stayed in a hotel near the doctor for a few days--a requirement for all of his out of town patients. He did provide nausea and pain meds for the trip home. I had also sat down with my neurologist and had plenty of meds to handle my other health issues for the time in the hotel and the trip home.

Make a list of all the pros and cons you are thinking about and then discuss them with your doctors. Nothing is too small or too big to consider, especially if it can cause another symptom you would need to deal with.

As a side note, it is my understanding that one is under anesthesia the longest with the daVinci so do carefully ask about that. And as I mentioned, talk to all of your doctors, not just the gynecological surgeons. I sat down with my local GYN, GP, neurologist, and even my allergist before my last surgery to make sure we were covering all of the health issues!