I am having an ongoing argument with several of my friends here. Three of them have had c-sections, each of them for their first and only birth. Last year when I was pregnant with my 3rd, we were swapping war stories. Each of them insisted that their guts were taken out of them and put in a bowl aside the delivery/operating table. One friend even went so far as to say they take every thing out and if they are not careful they can put it back wrong. (Although she does has the great Irish talent for pulling on one’s leg)
Since I’d never had a cesarian, this stuck me as horrendous and on my next dr. appt. I asked if this was true. My dr. stifled a giggle and patiently replied no. So what I’m thinking is that since it’s their first birth, and like most people, they’ve never seen intestines or umbilical cords in real life, maybe they confused one with the other? Maybe they are right would you be able to feel if your guts were missing from your abdomen (sp?)? Was my dr. trying to placate me?
I’m doing an OB/Gyn clerkship for med school and I’ve seen dozens of C-sections in the last month or so.
You’re friends are wrong. No eviceration. The surgeon tries hard to expose only the relevant areas for the procedure in question. For C-sections, that’s the uterus. Not that the intestines aren’t in close proximity. In fact, you need to push the intestines into the upper abdomen to prevent those meddlesome guts from interfering with the procedure.
I’m curious as to how your friends even saw anything. While most C-sections are performed with the patient awake (and the epidural turned up waaay high), a sterile curtain separates the patient’s upper torso/head from the operating field. In the procedures I’ve watched, there’s no way that he mom-to-be even had a view of what the surgeons were doing.
Mrs. Spritle had a c-section for “The Littlest Doper[sup]TM[/sup]”. I watched. They sliced her from 9 to 3 about 6 inches or so, reached in, cut her uterus, pulled out the cutest little boy in the world and began stitching.
That said, my BIL and SIL are both ob-gyns (makes for super dinner conversation). They tell me that sometimes, the slice is larger and the uterus is pulled out of the slice and then opened. This is in rare cases where it is absolutely necessary. Removal of guts and other kishkes is not done.
However, if your friend’s appendix burst, intestinal removal is part of the procedure…
Perhaps what they saw was the removal of the placenta? It would, indeed, be placed in a container of some sort and examined to make sure it came out whole.
In the procedures I’ve watched, there’s no way that he mom-to-be even had a view of what the surgeons were doing.
(I hope I did that right)
One friend said she saw and the other had her husband tell her. (Boys- go figure, not hte beauty of a new life, go right for the gross me out factor) But thanks a lot for clearing that up, Now I can rub their noses in it that I’m right.
I work in a hospital and was visiting a patient (i’m a dietitian) who had just recently (a few days earlier) had a hysterectomy (TAH/BSO), who had come back to the hospital b/c she was vomiting all of the sudden at home, her abdominal wound split open and her guts came out. She said she was pushing them back in, waiting for the ambulance to get there. Nice.
I’ve seen several TV shows of C-sections on the Discovery Health channel, and sometimes they have a mirror above the operating table so the mom may watch the birth if she so wishes.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. The last thing I need to watch is my belly being cut open (did I mention how much blood there is in the field?)
Where I work, I’ve never seen this offered to a patient. Even the Dads are discouraged from peeking. It’s hard to predict how people will react to all of the blood and guts. Many people faint. The last thing you want in the OR is someone fainting onto the sterile field or bashing their head on the floor.