SILS Hysterectomy

acarolinagurl

acarolinagurl

Cathlete
Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone on here has had the SILS hysterectomy? I'm scheduled to have one later this year. The Doctor went over everything with me and I've done a little research online.
My doctor told me the recovery time is much faster and the surgery is less invasive than other surgeries.
I'm having a partial hysterectomy, left ovary and uterus removed, due to adenomyosis. I've terrible abdominal pain the first two days of my cycle. I've had the ablation back in Oct 09, due to my periods were very heavy, but I was one of the few that it didn't work on completely. My pain got worse after having that done.

Thanks in advance for any information that could help me make a decision! :)
 
I didn't have an SILS, but I did have a hysterectomy laparoscopically. However, I had everything removed: cervix, uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes.

So I had 3 tiny incisions - literally no wider than 1/2 inch - if that.. more like 1/4 inch.
One near the belly button and 2 higher up - one to the right, one to the left.

It was a breeze. I went in the hospital Friday morning for 8:30 a.m. surgery, was in the operating room about 30 minutes, out to the recovery room, then to an observation wing overnight and discharged from the hospital the following morning at 10:00 a.m.

For about 3 days I was a little sore (I took Advil every 3 hours - it was all I needed) and very sleepy. After that, I started walking around the house some. About a week after the surgery, I was walking outside... slowly. Each day I felt a little stronger. After 4 weeks, I felt normal.

My recommendation is to take it slowly. I felt so much better than I thought I would, that I was eager to get back to doing things. In hindsight, I should have just relaxed and enjoyed the rest time.

That was 2 years ago when I was 64 years old.

Have you been to the hystersisters.com website?

They have a ton of great information and message boards where you can ask all your questions and get answers from other women who have had all the various kinds of hysterectomies.

Good luck. It was so much easier than I anticipated !!!
 
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About 20 years ago my Mom had a partial hysterectomy (kept one ovary.) It was a traditional surgery, not a laparscopic procedure. 10 years ago I had some endometriosis removed laparscopically (spl?) and it was fairly easy but it did not involve the removal of the uterus/ovaries. My mom had severe endometriosis and precancerous cells. She says that having the pain gone was like the difference between day and night. Based on her experience and the surgery being more invasive, I think you will be fine. I hope this goes well for you, I hope you don't mind that I commented even though I haven't been through the same thing.
 
Thanks ladies!

Great information, and I do want to be pain FREE! I think SILS is fairly new. I'll ask more questions when I see my doctor on Tuesday. It says the down time is only 2 weeks, that would be great as I don't want to take too much time away from my job.

I'm also going to visit "Hystersisters.com" and see what's going on over there! Thanks so much for this website!

Thanks again! :)
 
The reason for taking it easy is all the internal stitches... regardless of what "kind" of hysterectomy one has.

Hence the restrictions against lifting, vacuuming, driving, etc. I can't remember what my doctor's rules were.... but it was at least 4 weeks before I was allowed to drive. It's not the actual driving that is the problem after 2 or 3 weeks, it's the risk of having to slam the brakes on and ripping your internal stitches.

For the first couple of weeks, I was told not to lift anything heavier than a frying pan... lol. And at least 4 - 6 weeks before I was allowed to lift anything heavier than about 5 pounds.

Yes.. I only had 3 teeny tiny incisions with the surgery, so the pain was far less and the recovery time far easier than the way they used to do hysterectomies, but the important part that you need to be super careful about is the internal stitches. The type of surgery can't change that.

So I would be very specific in asking the doctor about the post-op restrictions.
 
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Just want to wish you Good Luck and speedy healing! (BTW, I thought your Sister-in-law (SIL) was having a Hysterectomy! :p)
 
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