A myomectomy can turn into a hysterectomy!

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I am going for a second opinion on March 4th. My first doctor wanted

to resect a submucosal fibroid and do a laproscopic myomectomy for my

subserosal fibroid. He informed me however, that the myomectomy could

well turn into a hysterectomy. So I refused having any treatment at

all for the subserosal fibroid and chose to just have the submucosal

fibroid resected (3.4 cm shrunk to 2.0 cm on Depot Lurpron). The

subserosal was 5 cm shrunk to 3 cm on Lupron). I wrote a letter and

requested that it be made part of my medical record at the hospital.

It stated, " I do not want a hysterectomy under any circumstances,

other than those necessary to safe my life. "

My first doctor said it was highly unlikely that a hysteroscopic

resection would turn into a hysterectomy for me. So for now, I am

only allowing them to treat the 1 fibroid.

When I spoke with another female physician this morning, she said the

same thing. That if the subserosal fibroid was removed, it could well

turn into a hysterectomy because there might not be enough of uterine

organ left to repair after the removal of the subserosal fibroid. IS

THIS NORMAL FOR PHYSICIAN'S TO GIVE YOU NO REAL GUARANTEE THAT THEY

WILL SAVE YOUR UTERUS DURING RESECTIONS & MYOMECTOMIES. ARE THEY NOT

SKILLED ENOUGH IN THESE PROCEDURES? I have HMO insurance and am

limited in what doctors I can go to. I have 3 reference for good

surgeons in Philadelphia & New York, but can't go to them because my

HMO will not pay for out of system doctors.

Has anyone gone to their phyician with diagnosed fibroids who were

informed and reassured that the procedure would not turn into a

hysterectomy?

Any information and feedback on this would be appreciated. I have

read 2 good fibroid books already. It seems my doctors may not be

skilled enough in these procedures, with the responses I'm getting.

I'm a 45 yr. old who wants to preserve her utuerus. THANKS EVERYONE!

[Guest guest]

> IS THIS NORMAL FOR PHYSICIAN'S TO GIVE YOU NO REAL GUARANTEE THAT >

> THEY WILL SAVE YOUR UTERUS DURING RESECTIONS & MYOMECTOMIES. ARE >

> THEY NOT SKILLED ENOUGH IN THESE PROCEDURES?

Excellent question. I think the answer is NO, THEY ARE NOT SKILLED

ENOUGH IN THESE PROCEDURES. Far too many are also simply too lazy to

do an accurate evaluation and actually consider your risk factors or

consider other options and perform them with any frequency, as well.

Much easier (and, thanks to negotiated insurance reimbursement

schedules, financially more luctrative) to just cut to the chase and

remove the whole organ.

With most other types of tumors,

-- the surgeon evaluates the tumor(s)

-- grades its level of pervasiveness

-- determines whether or not it can be treated without surgery

-- if surgery is required, determines resectability

-- at all times works on preservation of the organ (liver, heart,

lung, brain....)

-- removing an organ is damn near considered failure and due primarily

to the extent of the disease, not due to a surgeon's skill in taking

care of the problem without organ removal

But, in reproductive medicine...with the " average " gyn surgeon, it

hardly matters the size/location/number of fibroids you

have....hysterectomy *total organ removal* (and maybe a few additional

body parts...ovaries, appendix...) is the cure all. Seems quite silly

to me...if it weren't for the fact that over 600,000 women undergo

this procedure annually in this nation and it has been shown in

several studies now that an excess of 70% don't meet or follow even

the ACOG guidelines for the recommendation of this treatment. Stomach

churning information, at best.

There are days when it is awfully hard for me to escape the view that

reproductive medicine has been driven by {closet} misogynistic

leaders. There are times at gyn conferences when I hear women talked

about like nothing more than cattle...jokingly led to slaughter by any

means necessary to convince them a hysterectomy is truly in their best

interest. BTW, hysterectomy advocates LOVE the Hystersisters.com

website. Overheard at a conference two years ago:

" ...why spend time trying to convince a woman she needs a hysterectomy

when you can simply point her to hystersisters.com where other women

will do the job for you? "

Stomach churning, indeed.

Where's the science in gynecology? It barely exists.

Where's the intense sense of curiosity in looking for ways to cure

reproductive ills? Hard to find. Definitely not in abundance among

gynecologists in this nation.

Lobotomies came and went as a fad to control 'erratic'

behavior...primarily the erratic behavior of post-war veterans,

rebels, political opponents, and later, children. But the

hysterectomy remains as a tool to control women...with 76% of all

women undergoing hysterectomy also 'choosing " oophorectomy. Wholesale

castration of women without evidence that it truly prevents

comparative and impressive numbers of ovarian cancer seems

unconscionable, to me. Why hasn't it ever seemed even remotely

unconscionable to the majority of gynecologists?

The bad news: There are 40,000+ gynecologists in this nation and MOST

have been trained and conditioned to believe the

hysterectomy/oophorectomy is the panacea of all reproductive ills.

Without question -- by either the medical institute teaching them...or

by the physicians/medical students themselves.

The good news: " Most " does not equal " All " . And with that, we have

hope for the future.

For now, however, it may be difficult finding a doctor who won't utter

the word 'hysterectomy' at the drop of a pin. Hence, this and other

fibroid support groups online.

We have a long road and a big job ahead of us...acculturation of the

hysterectomy will be hard to overcome. I do believe, however, that it

can be overcome. As a matter of course in reading everything I

possibly can on female reproductive health, it is simply not possible

for me to acculturate or assimilate. In fact, it's a curiosity to me

that so many medical students lose their individuality in thinking the

minute they enter medical school and become mindless blobs who seek to

please their patriarchal mentors...not question the " father " of

knowledge before them. Not the paradigm I grew up with at all. Not

the educated " brilliance " I would have expected from medical students,

either.

Then again...with a publicly elected President who states " You're

either with us or against us... " and a populace that seemingly bows to

that logic without question, what more could I possibly expect from

medical students in this nation?

Apparently, the " box " of being " with us " is attractive. After all, so

few physicians think outside of it these days...

Carla Dionne

Hereby refusing to assimilate into the " Borg " of mainstream herding of

women as cattle in female reproductive healthcare and wishing more

medical students, particularly future gynecologists, would consider

new pathways towards thinking and treating patients as individuals, too...

(Star Trek's Federation of Planets faced its greatest challenge in the

Borg, a race of cyborgs (half human/half-machine) who assimilate alien

life forms into their collective. Like an army of ants, the Borg

Collective possesses a shared consciousness infused with a ferocious

determination to crush their enemy, at any cost.)

[Guest guest]

CARLA,

I ordered your book from a local bookstore. It has not come in yet.

I read 2 other books on fibroids (What your doctor did not tell you

about fibroids and What your doctor did not tell you about

perimenopause). I have great respect for your experiences, insight

and knowledge.

This is totally unbelievable that my 1st physician's recommendation

was for me to have a hysterectomy. I'm 45 symptomic submucosal

fibroid for 2 yrs.(hemograging,blood loss, fatigue), 0 children,

desire to have children. Also, I don't care to have my uterus removed

and be at the mercy of the drug companies and take HRT for the rest of

my life. Nor do I wish to contribute to my doctors salary (the one

he'll get by removing my uterus).

Do you have a recommendation for a fibroid specialist. The very best?

One can that has done 1000 myomectomies and one that only specializes

in this procedure (resections & myomectomies). I'm starting to believe

that I should find the very best doctor to do my resection and take a

loan out to pay for it. MY HMO doctors are not very reassuring to me.

I AM KEEPING MY UTERUS! AND WHO ARE THEY TO HAVE THE GALL TO

RECOMMEND THAT THEY TAKE IT OUT FOR A TOTALLY BENIGN CONDITION!

Thank you for your reply.

Jeanne

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Yes, my RE informed and reassured me that my myo would NOT turn into a hyst. He

was amused by the question saying that it was a easy surgery that he did several

times a week and has never had to covert yet. Now he also said there was always

a possibility that it could happen. You have to remember that some women have

other problems that could put them at more risk. My RE was confident to the

point of being cocky and seemed to love his work. So yes there's good docs out

there that can do myos very well. I had to go to another state to find one, mind

you. One IN OBGYN said that she could " try " a myo but it probally would be

converted to a hyst. She had no myo skills! None of the docs in this town did so

I ran as fast in another direction and went to KY. RUN from any doc warning you

beforehand about converting to hysts because I'd say they're just covering their

asses and have no business doing myos anyways!

Find a better doc who does lots of myos. Find a doc who explains ALL of your

treatment options and answers all your questions (like Dr. says he does).

Any doc that just says hyst and nothing else, run from. They are doing a lousy

job, tell them so before you leave.

One gal here recently said (after being overwhelmed by all the info and choices)

that's it's the doc's job to decide. She's very WRONG. It's your body and your

choice. You will have to live with the choice. Make the best choice for you!

Tell the women here where you are (city and state) and they may be able to help

you locate a good doc.

Ku

[Guest guest]

I am 35 years old with a 4.5 cm fibroid in my uterus. I am trying to decide

between UFE and an abd myo. Anyway, my ob/gyn assured me that the surgery

would not turn into a hysterectomy unless it was a matter of life and death.

She

would only persorm a hyst. if I were bleeding to death to save my life. I

have been going to her for years and totally truse her. She is an excellent

surgon. She is in Bronxville, NY, about 30 minutes north of NYC and accepts

many

forms of insurance - Dr. Polly Kanganis. Good luck.

Jen

[Guest guest]

Carla, simply one of your best. If I had my way, it would run as an

OpEd in every medical journal in the US. I can see the blurb

announcing its publication: " A 'blazing indictment' of an uncaring,

incurious profession " .

Ladies, keep up the good work you're doing by being here...the

questioning, the curiosity, the daring to envision what women's

healthcare could be. Some of you may even remember the battlecry

from the '60s: Question Authority!

Leonie

[Guest guest]

>

> Then again...with a publicly elected President who states " You're

> either with us or against us... "

I think that you mean " selected President " , as the majority of the

public did not vote for the man.

[Guest guest]

If you are willing to pay out of pocket Dr. Glassner comes highly

recommened in PHilly.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My doctor looked my in the eye and promised me 100% that my abdom myo would

not turn into a hysterectomy. That was a big concern for me too. I had 13

fibroids. One was the size of a baseball in my uterine wall at the top of it.

The

rest of them were varied sizes from grapes to golfballs on, in and on the

outside of my uterus. I had my my myo 1/7/04 and am doing fine with no pain,

heavy

bleeding and I lost that puffy abdomen that I think was from the fibroids

growing. I would get a second opinion just to be sure.

Best,

Pearl

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My doctor looked my in the eye and promised me 100% that my abdom myo would

not turn into a hysterectomy. That was a big concern for me too. I had 13

fibroids. One was the size of a baseball in my uterine wall at the top of it.

The

rest of them were varied sizes from grapes to golfballs on, in and on the

outside of my uterus. I had my my myo 1/7/04 and am doing fine with no pain,

heavy

bleeding and I lost that puffy abdomen that I think was from the fibroids

growing. I would get a second opinion just to be sure.

Best,

Pearl