Chapter 62: Pre Op Thoughts and Procedures

Today is Friday, January 6th and my hysterectomy is in 11 days. I had my pre op testing at Sister’s Hospital today. I have been calm and chill about this surgery until I pulled into the parking lot at the hospital.Then, the anxiety kicked in. I don’t have any doubts about what I’m doing, but the reality of surgery hit me. This will be my third surgery since October 2019 (my first endometriosis-diagnosing laparoscopic excision surgery and a breast reduction). Like anything else, the more experience you have in something, the less scary it seems. But it’s still an odd feeling going into something knowing you are signing up for some pain and suffering to get to a better place.

Before my first surgery in October 2019 I was convinced that I was going to die on the operating table.I have a bunch of pharmaceutical allergies and a chronic hive condition so I was absolutely positive that if I woke up at all, I would wake up covered in hives. I figured I’d be allergic to something and die on the table though. I literally woke up yelling the word “hives” and the poor post op nurse was so confused. Luckily, I haven’t managed to develop an allergy to any of the common surgical medications yet, so that’s a win.

My pre op testing consisted of 45 minutes of paperwork with a rather unpleasant nurse that I hope is not an indication of the rest of Sister’s nursing staff (seriously, this woman must have repeated my age and weight about 17 times in 20 minutes. I am not especially sensitive about either, but my goodness, lady). I also had bloodwork and an EKG. The results were sent straight to my surgeon at Buffalo IVF and I had an appointment with him immediately after.

This is the first surgery I’ve had that didn’t require me to meet with my primary care doctor for clearance. I’ve been seeing this doctor for almost 20 years and I love her to bits. She didn’t love the idea of me getting a hysterectomy when I ran it by her at my last physical, but she said she’s fine with it as long as I leave my ovaries. Deal. I can do that. I don’t want to go into menopause at 33. I’m very curious to see how our discussion goes at my physical in April when I drop the “hey by the way, I did this! And you weren’t part of the process.” Because I do love and respect her, but I was also really determined to do this.

I digress, after my appointment and tests at the hospital, I drove over to Buffalo IVF to have my pre op appointment with Dr. Griffin, the surgeon who will be doing my surgery. He explained all of the basics of the surgery to me, and then asked if I had any questions. Unfortunately for him, I was a journalism major that went to law school so I always have questions. He was so patient and calm in dealing with my large list of questions. Here’s the list I had for him. Feel free to steal these if you’re in a similar situation.

1. Cervix- what replaces it? A vaginal cuff- no more risk of cervical cancer, which means no more paps! (Read about them here: https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/vaginal-cuff)

2. Possibility of reduction of sexual function/ vaginal dryness? All should be normal to pre op standards because the ovaries are the hormonal center and they are not being removed.

3. Where do the eggs go when there are no Fallopian tubes? They are released into the abdomen and reabsorbed.

4. Healing process? Restrictions? Take it easy for the first few days and listen to your body. Don’t do anything dumb. No lifting more than a gallon of milk until the first post op appointment. No sex or anything else in your vagina for 8-10 weeks. No swimming or baths for same period of time.

5. Surgery length? 3-4 hours depending on what he finds once he’s in there.

6. Hormonal issues? What will actual menopause be like? Hormones should be unaffected by the surgery. Menopause should be about the same as it would have been, but without the irregular periods.

7. Gas pain post op? (note: everyone I know who has ever had laparoscopic surgery has complained of post op gas pain. I was fine last time. Was I lucky?) Yes, studies show that some people are more likely to get it. Past reactions are a good indication of future reactions so fingers crossed that I am indeed one of the lucky ones.

8. Abdominal binder: I shouldn’t need it but if it helps, go for it.

9. When can I shower? After 24 hours. Can shower as normal. No baths.

10. Appendix: Will take a look to see if the endo has made it that far during surgery.

11. Travel: After 2 weeks, go wild. Just make sure no swimming, no sex, no lifting super heavy things and make sure that I’m home for my post op appointments.

12. Pelvic floor PT: Not always necessary but he supports it if I want to try it.

Overall, it was a deeply comforting meeting with Dr. Griffin. He’s so kind with a wonderful bedside manner. He asked if I had talked to a therapist or anything about the finality of the hysterectomy (I have) but didn’t push it. He treated me like an intelligent adult who is capable of weighing the pros and cons and making a decision of this magnitude. I am so grateful that I didn’t have to beg for him to consider this. We had a discussion about quality of life, what I want out of life and he treated me as an equal. I am beyond excited to get this done and hopefully stop the pain.