OK, thanks to my girly bits being rude and obnoxious, my gyn has decided it would just be better for me to go ahead with a hysterectomy even though the 4 cm cyst on my ovary has not yet been checked out.
When I went in for my annual exam, I had a lapse of some 4 months without norethindrone, and it was sheer hell - back to the bleeding out, irregular and labor-worthy cramps. Frequently prolonged meds can get the body to regularize, but apparently it didnt happen. So she was checking the thickness of my endometrium again, and found a 4 cm cyst on my left ovary. She got me a consult with a gynecological oncologist, and sent me off for better imaging before the consult.
The imaging and my records got to the new doc, and he decided with my previous history, my current issues and tossing in the fact I am 48, have never successfully bred and obvously have issues with my reproductive tract that the recommendation of gutting me made the best sense for my quality of life and chance for remaining tumor free. I have no burning desire to continue meds or bleeding for the next 12-15 years and feel the 2% chance of something untoward happening is worth it.
So, on the 19th I go under the robotic knife at Yale.
What should I expect for recovery? My tubal ligation was 24 years ago … I understand that I am going to be kept overnight, then released back into the wilds of eastern Connecticut. I figure no hot tubbing for a while [boo!] but how long will I be in bed, and when can I be comfortable sitting at my computer wasting time on the internet? I am more looking for someone who has had a total hysterectomy and can share experiences. There is also the chance of a more involved incision as he is going to rummage around inside looking for adhesions, cysts, polyps and he is even going to swing over and check my appendix. If he finds anything requiring anything more involved he has permission to yoink it out or fix whatever is needed. Hey, I figure since he is already in there, he might as well - saves going back in =) He will make the determination at that time if the cyst is actually another tumor and if so what kind.
I have nothing to add except best wishes for a speedy recovery…and to point out that, when you’re done using it for a thread title, Robotic Hysterectomy would make an excellent Doper username for someone.
I had a Robotic Prostatectomy this past August, when I was 53.
YMMV, of course, but I am amazed at how good surgeons are getting in recent decades. As arthroscopic surgery was an incredible jump from conventional 18-inch abdomen slicing, robotics is almost as big a jump. I went in one morning, was walking that evening, home before noon the next day, no problem walking around to the kitchen, bathroom, etc. Took a few days till I ventured outside, and I was fortunate that all our rooms are on the same level. Of course, the body IS healing, and I did spend a lot of time in bed or on the couch. Today I can hardly see any of the six incisions.
Absolutely nothing wrong with asking other people about their experiences, but in addition ASK YOUR DOCTOR ALL THIS STUFF! You don’t want to presume that staying in bed is a good thing, if getting some exercise what your doctor wants you to do. And you don’t want to strain yourself either. Asking people their experiences is a great way to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally, but following the doc’s medical advice is just as critical.
Same by me. And he did find a couple of things (A cyst? A hernia? Really don’t remember) and fixed 'em while he was inside. The only downside of the whole experience was the urinary catheter. I don’t know if you’ll need one, so I’ll spare you – way T.M.I.
i heard about the robotics this morning on gma. they showed them going through the navel (bellybutton) to do the hysterectomy. will you be having that type of robot. they said there were about 900 in the u.s. and that recovery was very fast.
My prostate came out thru the navel. The other 5 incisions were for various scopes, knives, whatnot. My doc explained that whichever incision they’re gonna pull this thing out of will necessarily be the biggest of all the incisions. Therefore, they choose the navel for cosmetic reasons, since a large incision is gonna be the most likely to leave a scar, and with all the other folds and stuff it won’t be as noticable as if the biggest incision would be elsewhere.
I just had the consult, I have the bloodwork, and a preop meeting still to come next week [and a liqiprep and fleet enema just preop:(] and am really good at following directions, mrAru being trained as an EMT comes in handy as he is also really quite good at wound management but I just was hoping to hear from people who have had it done to them … just because Dr A has done hundreds of these doesn’t mean he can tell me what it is like from having had one of them [a hysterectomy on a guy :eek:]
I understand it is the multiple holes version though I was warned that if he found something that required a more radical slice and dice I would have a full on incision. As I told him, cut away, my fat ass hasn’t been in a bikini in 25 years and I wasn’t planning on running out and getting one
I will admit, I am really looking forward to eliminating a pill from my regime, and some of my migraines [the ones that are hormonally caused, leaving me the barometric ones, and the mystery ones] and it will be interesting seeing what happens when the random bursts of estrogen and whatever else the cysts may have been triggering over the years [PCOS] and he seems to think it may actually help on the diabetes.
I didn’t have a robotic hysterectomy, but I did have my uterus, ovaries, and what remained of my Fallopian tubes removed. It was just about the best thing I have done for myself.
I was told that I’d need about six weeks before I felt like I had recovered enough to do much of anything, and a full year before I felt back to normal. I found this to be true. I took a little longer, because I developed an infection in my wounds.
Don’t try to pick up anything heavier than a wet washcloth for the first six weeks. Seriously. Your body has undergone an insult and it needs to knit back together. Very light exercise, like walking, will help you heal faster.
