Vaginal Hematoma

[susceptible]

11/09/12 I went to acute care because of painful swelling on my left labia.  I'd assumed it was a pulled muscle because of my coughing and was hoping to get a cough suppressant and advice on whether to ice or heat it.  The nurse told me it was most likely a cyst but that she was concerned about how my blood pressure was and wanted me to go to the hospital to get it under control.  (I'd been sick and hadn't been taking my hypertension medication.)  Once I arrived at the hospital I was told I wasn't there because of my BP but because of the cyst.  A vaginal swab indicated I had an infection, an ultrasound showed a "mass," and the doctor said the mass was hard and that I should stay in the hospital to receive antibiotics in hopes of softening it up for incision and draining.  I was diagnosed with having a Bartholin's Cyst.  Seven days later (November 16th) I was told it hadn't reduced in size or softened and they they wanted to perform the IND.  After coming out of general anesthesia I waited five hours to be seen by the doctor.  Who told me it was a hematoma and asked if I'd experienced any kind of trauma to my vulva.  I had not.

Several things:

1.  I'm sorry for the length of this post, please be patient with me.
2.  I was outraged that they weren't able to identify it as a hematoma
3   I later found out that being hospitalized for seven days is pretty unusual, also angry about that
4   I was told that the anesthesia would be local but had signed a release for both in the event that local was not effective - they didn't even try.
5   I also found out *after* the surgery that the vaginal swab had been normal, there was actually never any infection

After being told that it was a hematoma and that they had gone ahead and drained it, I demanded to be discharged.

I was told to report back to the hospital on the 19th of November to have the shunt (is that the right word?  It wasn't a catheter, just a flat grooved piece of rubber) removed and the incision packed.  I flat out refused to go back.  I tried to see my primary care manager but was informed that he would be gone indefinitely as his wife had just given birth.  I saw another doctor and was told that I could go back to acute care to have it packed.  After being sent to the hospital by them, I chose not to go back there either.

The shunt came out on its own on November 20th (it looked like it had been sewn in to me - surgical thread (?) attached.)  Bleeding became almost nonexistent on the 17th of November and had completely stopped by the 20th.  I had been told not to have sex until December 28th.  My husband and I had sex on November 22nd - no pain, no bleeding.. nothing.

I realize now that this was probably a mistake but with the way everything else had gone, I truly did not trust the hospital or its doctors.

So.. my questions (Gosh, I am so sorry for the novel!)

1.  What causes a vaginal hematoma if not trauma?  (I have never given birth)
2.  How could a hematoma be confused with a Bartholin's Cyst?
3.  My discharge paperwork states my official diagnosis is "Bartholin's Hematoma"  I can't find a reference to that anywhere... Does that exist?
4.  Seven (7!) days in a hospital for a cyst?  Is that normal?
5.  I'm scared to go back to the hospital... and now the pain is back.  Any words of advice (maybe even encouragement?)

Thank you for reading this... I know it's a lot of information but as overwhelming as it is, I'm equally overwhelmed by how vast this problem actually is.  Any feedback would be really, really appreciated.

[Vmn1984]

So glad i found this. I know this is 4 years later, but I just left the obgyn office because I thought I had a bartholins cyst.Turns out it was a hematoma. I have no kids and no traumatic event had happened to my vagina. The only real thing i can think of was when i was having sex with my boyfriend. I wasnt all that in to it so it hurt because i wasnt in the mood. And then i found the "cyst" 3 days later. I was there for a total of 3 1/2 hours. The doctor stuck a needle in but it would not drain. So he sent me up stairs to get a scan done. When he saw the scan he said there is liquid in there. So he grabbed a scalpel and out came the blood clot. I was in. I was out. They shouldnt have made you stay there for a week.