Guest guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 How is a woman supposed to find a doctor who does not perform unnecessary hysterectomies and should that be a factor in selecting a doctor for a myomectomy? There seem to only be a few doctors in the U.S. who will perform myos on anyone regardless of age: Dr. West, Dr. Glassner, and a few others. The doctors I have been to treat me like I am an " exception " in that I haven't had children at the age of 39. For instance, telling me, " We usually don't send people for MRI's because they are so expensive, but in your case (because I don't have children and am therefore a candidate for a myo in the doctor's opinion) I want to know exactly what I will be operating on. " My current doctor tells me he's done so many myos he can't count them all, but he feels the uterus is useless except for childbearing. He told me he was upset by a 20/20 news story in which women said hysterectomy caused them sexual problems, because " women with their uteruses also have sexual problems. " On the other hand, he thinks hysteroscopic resection is wonderful and sent me to a reproductive endo for a consultation. Unfortunately, the RE feels that I must prove my husband's and my fertility to determine if I am a candidate for resection. What am I supposed to do, keep going from doctor to doctor, taking time off from work without pay, hoping to find one who shares my philosophy about preserving the uterus? Or take my chances with a myo from one of these doctors who give me special consideration because of my childbearing status? Does a doctor's preference for hysterectomy have any relationship with his surgical skills in regard to myomectomy? I would feel much more confident in a doctor who would give ANY woman the option of a myo with no regard to fertility or age. Therese Message: 22 Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 16:20:59 -0800 Subject: unnecessary hysts? megananoo wrote: > So... does being in the One Kilo club mean that a doctor performs > laparascopic hysterectomies on every single patient who walks through > this door? That's what's being implied below. I think Dr. would > find it assumptive and so do I. I don't know what his real practices > are... as in I don't have 3rd party verification, but they do seem to > be very much in support of NOT performing hysterectomies that are > unnecessary. A couple of quick comments. 1. no, being a member of the One Kilo Club does not mean that LH are performed on ALL patients. However, I can assure you that hysterectomy, be it lap or vaginal, is THE primary procedure offered to patients with fibroids from this group of physicians. That doesn't mean they also are not skilled in removing simply fibroids. They are. But, hysterectomy is generally recommended as the preferred treatment option for fibroids by these docs and routinely performed. If you choose to call Dr. for more information, please be sure and ask him how many of each procedure he performs on a monthly basis...and how many hysterectomies he performed in the last year or so vs. myomectomies. 2. Every doctor I know will give lip service to the concept of not performing an unnecessary hysterectomy. All of them. No doctor (at least none I know) walks around saying (or even thinking) they do unnecessary procedures of any kind. Question: If no doctor is performing unnecessary hysts, who in the world is performing all these hysts? Objective criteria for diagnosing and treating fibroids -- what little we have in the way of ACOG standards -- aren't even followed by a great many gyns. And, each would say they only performed necessary hysterectomies. Conceptual support doesn't seem to align completely with practice. So, caution is necessary on that front. Carla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 I usually take it as a bad sign when a receptionist, nurse or doctor asks me if I want to have children in relation to my fibroid treatment. I don't, but that doesn't mean that I think a hyst is ok. I hate that I have to lie about it, because then they reccomend a laparotomy- which I'm not that thrilled about. Yes, unfortunately, you have to keep going to doctors and taking time off of work and all that crap. But I wonder... do you think you can get it in writing that they will not perform a hysterectomy under any circumstance? I am shocked that you would have to prove your husband's fertitility in order to avoid a hyst! Therese- what state are you in? I've found a wonderful doctor here in SF who in our first meeting acknowledged that the uterus has many important functions besides childbearing- and this without my prodding. Feel free to email me privately. -Meg > > > So... does being in the One Kilo club mean that a doctor performs > > laparascopic hysterectomies on every single patient who walks through > > this door? That's what's being implied below. I think Dr. would > > find it assumptive and so do I. I don't know what his real practices > > are... as in I don't have 3rd party verification, but they do seem to > > be very much in support of NOT performing hysterectomies that are > > unnecessary. > > A couple of quick comments. > > 1. no, being a member of the One Kilo Club does not mean that LH are > performed on ALL patients. > However, I can assure you that hysterectomy, be it lap or vaginal, is THE > primary procedure offered > to patients with fibroids from this group of physicians. That doesn't mean > they also are not skilled > in removing simply fibroids. They are. But, hysterectomy is generally > recommended as the preferred > treatment option for fibroids by these docs and routinely performed. If you > choose to call Dr. > for more information, please be sure and ask him how many of each procedure > he performs on a monthly > basis...and how many hysterectomies he performed in the last year or so vs. > myomectomies. > > 2. Every doctor I know will give lip service to the concept of not > performing an unnecessary > hysterectomy. All of them. No doctor (at least none I know) walks around > saying (or even thinking) > they do unnecessary procedures of any kind. Question: If no doctor is > performing unnecessary hysts, > who in the world is performing all these hysts? > > Objective criteria for diagnosing and treating fibroids -- what little we > have in the way of ACOG > standards -- aren't even followed by a great many gyns. And, each would say > they only performed > necessary hysterectomies. Conceptual support doesn't seem to align > completely with practice. So, > caution is necessary on that front. > > Carla > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2001 Report Share Posted December 28, 2001 I usually take it as a bad sign when a receptionist, nurse or doctor asks me if I want to have children in relation to my fibroid treatment. I don't, but that doesn't mean that I think a hyst is ok. I hate that I have to lie about it, because then they reccomend a laparotomy- which I'm not that thrilled about. Yes, unfortunately, you have to keep going to doctors and taking time off of work and all that crap. But I wonder... do you think you can get it in writing that they will not perform a hysterectomy under any circumstance? I am shocked that you would have to prove your husband's fertitility in order to avoid a hyst! Therese- what state are you in? I've found a wonderful doctor here in SF who in our first meeting acknowledged that the uterus has many important functions besides childbearing- and this without my prodding. Feel free to email me privately. -Meg > > > So... does being in the One Kilo club mean that a doctor performs > > laparascopic hysterectomies on every single patient who walks through > > this door? That's what's being implied below. I think Dr. would > > find it assumptive and so do I. I don't know what his real practices > > are... as in I don't have 3rd party verification, but they do seem to > > be very much in support of NOT performing hysterectomies that are > > unnecessary. > > A couple of quick comments. > > 1. no, being a member of the One Kilo Club does not mean that LH are > performed on ALL patients. > However, I can assure you that hysterectomy, be it lap or vaginal, is THE > primary procedure offered > to patients with fibroids from this group of physicians. That doesn't mean > they also are not skilled > in removing simply fibroids. They are. But, hysterectomy is generally > recommended as the preferred > treatment option for fibroids by these docs and routinely performed. If you > choose to call Dr. > for more information, please be sure and ask him how many of each procedure > he performs on a monthly > basis...and how many hysterectomies he performed in the last year or so vs. > myomectomies. > > 2. Every doctor I know will give lip service to the concept of not > performing an unnecessary > hysterectomy. All of them. No doctor (at least none I know) walks around > saying (or even thinking) > they do unnecessary procedures of any kind. Question: If no doctor is > performing unnecessary hysts, > who in the world is performing all these hysts? > > Objective criteria for diagnosing and treating fibroids -- what little we > have in the way of ACOG > standards -- aren't even followed by a great many gyns. And, each would say > they only performed > necessary hysterectomies. Conceptual support doesn't seem to align > completely with practice. So, > caution is necessary on that front. > > Carla > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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