Weighing Surgery Options

I am scheduled for surgery 2/12/09. I've gone back and forth with my gynecologist, a surgeon, and now a women's specialty surgeon in regard to my pain and discomfort and they collectively agree that I should have a hysterectomy because they feel I am suffering from adenomyosis. I'm finally glad that they came up with an answer to my unexplained pain. So, I go for my pre-surgical visit last week and my surgeon tells me that I will have laproscopic surgery, and leaves it up to me to decide whether I want to keep my cervix or get rid of it as well. I gotta tell you, I was taken back by being given the choice...and I'm not having an easy time making the decision for fear that I will make the wrong decision. My PCP, whom I have all the faith in, suggests without a doubt that I should have my cervix removed so that I do not need to worry about cervical cancer in the future. That sounded good to me and I thought I'd just take his advice, but then I started reading about the two difference surgeries...LAVH or the other one where they take it through the abdomen laproscopically (I don't know the abbreviations for all of these surgeries yet, sorry...I'll eventually learn). After reading articles on-line, I'm more scared than ever and I'm afraid that if I get a LAVH, that I could be one of those women that endure incontinence, or that everything will 'shift' if my cervix is not there to support it. I'm 34 years old and this is probably the biggest choice I've ever had to make. I'm looking for help to make my decision between the two different surgeries.

Hi there,
I know that any type of surgery might be scary, but what sometimes is more scarier is what we go thru on a monthly basis. Not knowing if this months period will be easier than others etc-etc. I had a SLH supraservical Laproscopic Hysterectomy, 12-30-08 back home on new years eve!!! The way I see it is even though I brought in the new year in bed in pain these last two weeks have been good days bad days, I am starting a NEW YEAR!!! over all I feel like it's the best thing that I could have done. I am 33 years old have one son and I did not want anymore children. So, having this surgery was pretty much to alleviate all that monthly pain I seem to be going thru every month.
I wish you good luck and get out for now, pamper your self because once you have surgery you will be stuck in bed for a long time...

i had the lsh and kept my cervix and ovaries. in the end i wanted to keep everything that was healthy as i feel that everything serves a purpose. i knew my uterus had to be removed but i did not want anything else to be. i read a lot about future pelvic support and i like my cervix bumped during sex. if you havent had abnormal paps, removing something because you "might" get cancer makes no sense to me. thats just my opinion. do lots of research and make an informed decision that you are comfortable with..thats all each of us can do. good luck!

Thanks for your info...I appreciate it. Since you had the SLH as opposed to the LAVH, are you experiencing the small percentage of women that have intermittent periods? Or I guess maybe it would be too soon for you to tell. If I go through this I don't want to deal with periods anymore and my doc said it's a possibility. Did your doc weigh in on that?

I'm scheduled on 2/17 for LAVH w/BSO and I want it all removed. Here's my thought process. First of all I have been through the gamet over the past 8 years trying to figure out how to resolve the promblems I'm been having since the onset of my period; lupron, dncs, ablation, and on and on. Secondly, my mother and my aunt both had hysters in their 30s for similar issues; endo, fibroids, cycsts, painful periods with excessive bleeding and on and on. I will never know if I'm genetically predisposed for cervical, uterian, or ovarian cancer. However, my 83 year old grandmother (my mom's mom) had to have a hyster in her late 60s early 70s for uterian cancer. All I know is that when I'm that old I probably need to be worried about other health issues. So, I'm going for it. The whole kit and kaboodle and I'm scared to death. You have to know your body and your family history and make a decision you can live with. There are pros and cons to each surgery and which organs you have removed. Do what makes you feel comfortable and have no regrets because whatever choice you make has got to leave you in a better place than you are right now. (I should practice what I preach) Try to find peace in your decision and look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

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Originally Posted by issconfused Thanks for your info...I appreciate it. Since you had the SLH as opposed to the LAVH, are you experiencing the small percentage of women that have intermittent periods? Or I guess maybe it would be too soon for you to tell. If I go through this I don't want to deal with periods anymore and my doc said it's a possibility. Did your doc weigh in on that?

no, i have no periods...i had my surgery over 2 years ago. my dr told me he has never had a patient had a mini period. but even most women that do, its spotting..usually only visable when wiping. its not actually periods. if your dr cauterizes the top of your cervix during surgery, you most likely wont. if you want no possibility of that, the lavh would be a better option for you since the cervix has to be removed during that.

My post is just like "dressedupinblue". I kept my healthy cervix and ovaries and had just my pain-ridden uterus removed. The time for my period has come and gone with no sign of a period at all!! As a matter of fact, I haven't bled at all since my surgery - nothing! I'm happy I made this choice. There is much to read on this site. Do your research and be comfortable with whatever you decide. All the best to you!

Thank you so much for your thoughts....they really are helping me come to a conclusion for my surgery option. I will keep researching on this site as soon as I figure out how to navigate through it a little better

Hi Issconfused,

I also had a LSH and kept my cervix and ovaries. I had my cervix cauterized during my hyst and I have not had any mini-periods in post-op.

You can get two schools of thinking on whether to keep the cervix or not. In pre-op, my Dr. told me that he thought the cervix helps with future pelvic support and with sex. I was a good candidate to keep my cervix since it was sturdy and I had normal pap smears for years. My Dr. also told me that 3% or less of women get cervical cancer...so that was good odds for me. Also, I learned by being on Hyster Sisters that around 70% of that 3% also have a HPV...so that is why it is important to have normal pap smears if a Hyster Sister is looking at keeping the cervix.

My LSH is still one of the best things I ever did for my long term health. I would do it again in a second to have the quality fo life I have now.

Best wishes~

Mary

Thank you so much for your information and the information that YOUR doctor shared with you. You 'hit' on two very important deciding factors for me and I'm feeling a lot better about making the right decision after reading your reply.

Thanks so much!