Bikini cut vs. vertical abdominal cut

I heard that if you're heavier they sometimes use the vertical cut. I don't know how true that is though.

I had a TAH on March 7th and have an 8-inch vertical incision. My pain has not been bad at all from the incision, and it's healing very well--the scar should be very miminal, especially for the upper 2/3 of the incision. I had staples that came out at 7 days and then steri-strips. Once the staples were removed and the steri-strips fell off, I was very comfortable. Good luck with your surgery!

I had a vertical cut also. My Dr said because of the size of my uteris and fibriod a vertical would be better to get everthing out. He also said because of my fluffiness horizontal would be harder to get to my uteris out because there is not much room to move,also horizontal may not heal correct because of my fluffy belly. My SIL also fluffy pop her hoizntal incivision 5 days after her c-isection just one sneeze and a coughing. I did not want that happening to me!

I just can't thank you all enough for sharing your experiences with me. It really helps. I'm not as afraid of a vertical cut as I was before.

I had a horizontal cut. Doctor said it was preferred in my situation in case of cancer as could lift the organs straight out and not be reaching around for them and spreading cancer if present. I had no sutures/staples on the surface...she had a thread under the skin in a serpentine pattern with 2 inch "tails" sticking out....healed beautifully and minimal scarring.

I had 3 bikini line caesarians, and the plan was to re-use the same scar line for my TAH.
After the surgery was over I found out that the bikini cut was not possible. I also had a 20+ week size uterus (Dr said that it was hard and the size of a soccer ball!) plus fibroids, so a large vertical cut was done to enable better working space for the operation.
I dont mind having a new scar...I feel that I am healing just as well - if not better than from the c-sections.

I have had two bikini cuts and one vertical cut. I like the bikini cut better. That is how they did my hysterectomy. My vertical cut is from a C-section 13 years ago and it is still a bad looking scar. There are pros and cons to both. The vertical is easier to take care of and also not as sore as bikini. Just be sure to follow your doctors instructions and either way it should heal well. Report anything unusual to the doctor if you notice it. Good luck with everything.

I had to have a vertical incision because my cyst was very large and my doctor didn't know if it was cancer and if it had spread and how much additional work he was going to need to do. Hence, a vertical cut from pubic bone to bellybutton which could have been extended if need be. Fortunately, it wasn't needed. However, I have also have had 2 abdominal surgerys which were done with a bikini cut and I don't know if it's the 20 year time difference, but I found the recovery from the vertical inclsion to be much more difficult and lenghtly. I'm at 7 weeks tomorrow and feeling good but didn't really start feeling good until about 5-6 weeks.

Good luck to you!