Vaginal Vs Abdominal Hyst

Question

Hi ladies, I read in the your posts that surgery (hyst) is preferred if done through vagina, I guess interms of early recovery. But other sources (website..)says the follosing:

Abdominal hysterectomy is recommended over vaginal hysterectomy because it affords the opportunity to examine and obtain washings of the abdominal cavity to detect any further evidence of cancer. 
Which one do u recommend, how bad is the abdominal hyst, size of the cut and recovery time etc..?

Mommacar · Answer

I had it done vaginally in 2001 with a large tumor 5lb in size =. Recovery ttime was quick! They were able to wash inside and get all the parts out. Looked bad initially but turned out to be benign. If you have a choice Vaginal is the way to go. Good luck!
Sue

Gatsby · Answer

As for the size of the women who qualify for tvh, I must admit that I am a 5'7" american and weigh 140 pounds.  If that is considered "tiny", then yipee!!!
~Tascha

turtledovemom · Answer

Dealing with a malignancy, as you said you were...its doubtful that they'd do a tvh.

KF3 · Answer

I had asked for a vaginal hyst and the gyn said "no way" and that most people don't qualify. It is for mainly tiny women like Asians. My uterus was 5 mos preg size(?) and I had to have the regular cut, which terrified me! It turned out a lot of worry for nothing. Also gave them better access to remove as much endo as they could and check ovaries. They don't cut through the muscle and the scar is at the hairline (bikini). Recovery was 6 - 8 wks. I healed really fast cause I don't like being waited on or lying around sick. In the hospital they made me start walking around the halls on the 3rd day (to reduce pnemonia risk)and I think that really helped. Just don't push yourself too far and listen to your body. I still think a good surgeon is key, though! Good luck!

in the same boat · Answer

I had an abdominal hysterectomy 2 yrs ago. The incision is bikini line. I was home for 8 weeks before I went back to work. The first week is the roughest, mainly just that you don't want to move around a lot because everytime you do it pulls on your incision & your very tired. You DO want to take it very easy when you home thou. You don't want to do any housework or go lifting pots & pans. A friend of mine had a vaginal & her recovery time was quicker because it's not as invasive as an abdominal. HOWEVER I heard that not many drs want to do it that way because they have less control on what they want to get at & do.  In my opinion having the surgery wasn't that bad. I just sat at home watched tv & slept a lot but I generally always felt pretty good. You may have some pain while in the hospital(they'll take of that for you) but you get home, you may have some, but nothing terrible I think. I never even took any of the pain pills they gave me.

Gatsby · Answer

If you do not have any cancer concerns, like myself (I had adenomyosis) then if possible a tvh is preferable.  Since my condition was confined to the uterus, it made sense to go the vaginal route.  You need to discuss your options with your dr.  Not everyone is able to have it done this way.  Fortunately for me, it was fine and the final dx through pathology was adenomyosis.
~Tascha

Vaginal Vs Abdominal Hyst

You are reading content posted in the Ovarian Cancer Community