Lora’s Laparoscopic Hysterectomy
Age at Surgery 25
Location: Grand Rapids, MN
After over a year of severe abdominal pain and several cysts, my doctor believed I had endometriosis. I was unable to handle any treatments containing hormones like birth control. Since we were unable to have more children anyway, we opted for a hysterectomy so I could be done with all the pain
On November 29th, 2017 I had my surgery laparoscopically. My uterus, fallopian tubes, and cervix were removed but I kept my ovaries. After testing my uterus, my official diagnosis was adenomyosis not endometriosis. I underwent general anesthesia with a spinal block. It was simple and really helped control my pain post surgery! I was in the hospital for 2 days before I was discharged.
My recover was pretty simple for the first few months. The gas pain was horrible but after the first 2 weeks, i started feeling like normal. I of course followed Dr. Instructions and took it easy. My 6 week checkup went great! My doctor mentioned I still had a few stitches that hadn’t dissolved but assured me they would within another 6 weeks. I was ok’d to resume my activities including sex.
Fast forward to almost 4 months post op…
During sex with my husband (we had regular sex since about 8 weeks post-op) I felt a pop and severe pain. At first I figured we just hit a tender spot so we quit and I went to the bathroom. I found I was bleeding bright red. The pain continued to worsen so i told my husband to take me to the ER.
Once there I had many tests and found that my vaginal cuff had tore and my small intestine was decended into my vagina. It is an EXTREMELY rare complication, especially 4 months out from surgery. I was my doctors first case of it and he’s been doing hysterectomies for almost 30 years.
I was rushed into emergency surgery to fix the tear and put the bowels where they belonged. Thankfully I was admitted before any damage to my bowels occurred. I stayed in the hospital for 2.5 days and was placed on several heavy antibiotics to prevent infection.
Overall, I’m still glad I had my hysterectomy. My pain was resolved and I felt like myself again! I know my experience with the tear is not common and I’m thankful my doctor was able to help me immediately! I will heal again and be back to living my pain free life soon!
Remember to take time to heal. I know I tend to do too much when I start feeling better and thats not good. It takes a long time to heal from a major surgery like a hysterectomy. Also make sure you have a doctor you trust!
