Fibroid removal

[Operation]

Hi all,

I'm about to go for a myomectomy soon to remove a fibroid, has anyone gone for the same procedure before? What should I be expecting after the op?

And I'd like to have children one day, is there anyone who's gotten pregnant after such an op, and are there any complications that could arise?

Thanks so much in advance  

[op]

I had the same operation a couple of years ago.  If the fibroid had been small enough I could have had keyhole surgery and I believe the recovery time is much shorter.  It took me around a month to get back to normal.  For the 1st couple of weeks I moved around very slowly and couldn't lift anything heavy.  Other than that, no problems.

[Operation]

thanks,
just one more question, was the scar very visible?

[op]

No, not at all, it's right on the bikini line.  Good luck.

[JD]

Hi there,
I had this op in early Feb 99 in US. My fibroid was the size of s small grapefruit so it needed to come out!
My scar was right down on the bikin line and recovery was OK.  Had to take it easy for a few weeks as it is major abdominal surgery. By mid March I was back work (admittedly I only worked part time then and no heavy lifting involved). By April I had family over for a vacation and by end of April I had packed up the house and moved to Singapore. I would not recommend that as a general course of action after an op of this kind though!

I had just 3 days in hospital but was really unable to do much for 2 weeks then just pottering about by week 3.
Ask your Dr for stool softner tablets though-you are so tender the thought of trying to poop is too scary for words!!
I would say allow 4-6 weeks before you think about trying to resume your normal activities.

In Sept 2000 I had our daughter here in MT E. Drs suggest after a myomectomy that you consider a c-section birth. The actual labour can in some cases cause the womb to rupture where it was sewn up in the myomectomy. A rupture is bad news during delivery. Some ladies get away with it and have a normal delivery. If it does go wrong then you have to have an emergency c-section so I decided to avoid the stress and have an elective c-section. This saved stress and worry for everyone including the nursing staff. My Dr here used the previous scar as his entry point for the birth so I still only have one scar a couple of cms above bikini line.
The op should hopefully improve your fertility not mess it up.
I had given up hope of ever having children due to many medical problems and I didn't fancy IVF. Both pregnancies have happened naturally and were nice surprises especailly now I'm almost 38 so no spring chicken in the fertility stakes!

Good luck with the op and if you have any other questions you can email me and I'll try and answer them.

[Uterus]

The previous poster is right in that a fibroid op, like any uterine surgery (such as D&C's or whatever) MAY slightly increase the risk of a uterine rupture in later pregnancies. However - this does NOT necessarily mean you have to have a cesarian birth if you subsequently get pregnant.

First off the risk of a rupture occuring is VERY small (like 0.3%) and in fact smaller than for women who have had previous c-sections.  

Second most so-called uterine ruptures are in fact fairly harmless openings called "windows" where the scar tissue slightly separates; (the word "rupture which is very scary, implies a huge ragged wound but that is rarely the case).

Even in the very worst case scenario there should still be time to get an epidural up should you need a c-section, a rupture is rarely life and death.  

One final point should you have a baby in future - it's best to avoid any kind of induction (especially with oxytocin) as that CAN significantly increase the risk of a rupture (with or without a uterine scar). You would probaby find that most women you spoke to who had c-sections for uterine ruptures actually had induced births.

Best of luck with the surgery !

[Operation]

Thanks so much for your responses, it's been so helpful and reassuring to hear first hand accounts.

The greatest fear I had was the possible "rupturing" of the uterus which sounded quite awful when the gynae described it to me!

But I think it should be alright, will just have to be more cautious in the future if I get pregnant.  

Thanks again.

[JD]

Hi Operation,
Sorry if my posting worried you regarding uterine ruptures, I didn't mean too. I could only pass on what I had been told by my Drs here and in the USA.
At the end of the day a healthy baby and mum and hopefully a straightforward delivery is what everyone is after. When you get pregnant, talk to your Dr again and do some research and see what they say.

[Operation]

Thanks so much JD,

Your reply was really helpful, I've heard about the uterine ruptures from my gynae as well. So no worries, you didn't cause too much distress!