Lisa’s Robotic Hysterectomy

Hysterectomy Type: Robotic daVinci
Hysterectomy Date: September 18th, 2013
Age at Surgery: 50
Location: Northwest USA

I had an endometrial ablation and D&C in the fall of 2004 due to heavy bleeding, cysts on ovary and fibroids. I was very happy with the success of that surgery as even now I have yet to have any bleeding. My longtime GYN doctor retired last year and I had to find a new doctor. At this stage of my life I was having lower back pain, monthly cramping (no periods though) and nothing that IBU didn’t seem to help. When I went in for my pap with the new doctor, she mentioned that my uterus was large, and wanted to do an ultrasound, which we did and found that I had “multiple fibroids” and uterus was 16 weeks in size. I was not having any other symptoms at this point so she said that with menopause the fibroids shrink so we would just wait, take another ultrasound 6 mos down the road to note any changes. One month later I started having stomach/GI issues, increased back pain, and cramping.

I went to primary doctor and ran bloodwork tests that all came back fine. Went to GI doctor for colonoscopy and endoscopy, those tests came back and showed I had a slight ulcer, but didn’t relate much to my “symptoms”. My primary doc wanted me to recheck with my GYN and have a CT scan as she thought with the ultrasound it may be related to GYN issues, but the GYN doc said there was no need for further tests or scans and made a comment that maybe I was feeling all of this because I was told about the uterus and fibroids, and I was causing the discomfort myself. I was made to feel foolish and actually did question whether or not I was doing all of this to myself.

I retired from my job. Sitting at a desk for 8 hours became unbearably uncomfortable. I tried to figure things out on my own for another 3 months and finally decided I needed another opinion from a GYN doctor. My primary doctor recommended we get a CT scan and that could rule out anything else and would also be helpful for the new GYN doc if needed. Three days later I was able to see a highly regarded doctor and she took one look at the scans and said that I had 5 very large fibroids, multiple small ones, my uterus was very enlarged as well and in her opinion the best option was a hysterectomy.

I was basically at my wits end at this point because I had not been validated with the pain I was feeling, so I welcomed the hysterectomy decision. I was given the option of leaving the ovaries, but my family has the BRCA gene and ovarian and even fallopian tube cancer has been found in family so I opted to have everything removed. The pathology report showed that my uterus was 468 grams – which I understand is substantial. I am very happy with my decision.

I highly recommend getting a second opinion to anyone out there. The key is that we know our own bodies best. If something just doesn’t feel right, get it checked and don’t let anyone make you feel that you are imagining your symptoms.