Oophrorectomy anyone?

[Blanche]

VR.com has a diverse population of people who frequent the site. I wonder if anyone has experience or information about an Oophrorectomy (removal of ovaries). I had a partial hysterectomy in 1984, which did not include ovary removal. In June of 2004, an ultra-sound for diagnostic purposes showed that I had an ovarian cyst on my left ovary of 1.8 centemeters. Follow-up CT scan in October 2004 showed that the cyst increased in size to 2.1 centemeters. Ovarian cysts can be problematic for post-menopausal women. I am well past 60 years.

The first doctor that I saw told me that I had a 70% chance of cancer. This doctor, who also travels to New YorK City to engage in "elite trading" on the stock market, told me on second visit that he made a mistake. I bid him farewell. The second doctor said the ovary in question needed removal as did the other one. He insisted on major surgery as opposed to laparoscopy. The Governor of our state of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, had a cyst removed by laparoscopy. So, I tried a third doctor, who agreed with the second one. Must have major surgery. Laporoscopy would not do it. I scheduled surgery for January 31, but got the raging flu on January 28. Cancelled surgery. Since then I have been fighting the ravages of the flue or cold, what ever it was. It is now 8 weeks later and I am being pressured to schedule surgery again.

The first time I scheduled surgery, I was confortable. Now, I am asking questions. I would like very much to hear from people who might help me make a decision with which I can have a good comfort level.

Many thanks,
Blanche

 

[tobagotwo]

My wife had an ovary removed. The surgery went from what was supposed to be an hour or so of laparoscopic simplicity to three hours of major surgery.

The benefit of the laparoscopic surgery for her was only that she got three little cuts that had to heal along with the big smile incision.

They also thought the growth on her ovary was cancerous. Fortunately, they were wrong. In the end, the lab decided they didn't quite know what kind of growth it was. During the surgery, they had a quandary over whether one item was an artery or her ureter.

Another surgeon was called in to assist, and tried to talk her original surgeon into doing a complete hysterectomy along with it, because it would be "one less thing for her to deal with later." Fortunately, her surgeon declined. Unfortunately, they made the decision in the dark, as they never consulted me. My wife and I had discussed the possibilities, and premade possible decisions. She made certain her surgeon was aware to contact me if a decision must be made.

Of course, when the time came, she (my wife's surgeon) didn't even think of me, and almost did as the other surgeon suggested. After two and a half hours, I induced a nurse to find out what was going on, and enough of this came back to make me horrified that my wife was in their hands.

Don't get overly worried, Blanche. I'm pretty sure that this is not typical, but...

By all means, be sure to find someone who knows what they are doing!

Best wishes,

 

[Blanche]

Many thanks for info I need to have

Many thanks for info I need to have

Bob:
I am a pragmatic daughter of a witch ( as opposed to son of a...) so I don't get overly worried. I also have a keen sense of smell, which has caused my nose to twitch in this situation. I know my primary doctor is getting nervous with me ( he really is the best example of a country doctor I could find) because I have rejected several doctors whom he has recommended over the past three years...including the gyn surgeon who had numerous malpractice suits and who was practicing with restrictions. I also rejected a gastro guy who received a nomination for top doc.

The information you provided, although not directly on point, roused me to issues that I had not, not at all, considered. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. You have given me valuable information to consider and deal with before I take my place on the gurney outside the operating room. There's a whole other layer here that I had never considered before.

Many. many thanks,
Blanche

 

[perkicar]

Have any of these surgeons run an CA-125 blood titer, which, if elevated, would be suspicious for ovarian CA? I suppose that some of them might like to keep their options open to allow an open (big scar) excision vs the laparoscopic. And if it were ovarian CA, the ability to look for possible metastastic disease without having to put you through a second surgery.
All that said, though, listen to your gut when choosing your surgeon. But, and I caution this because of having done it myself, be sure that you are talking to/looking at other surgeons because you don't fee you'd have a good working relationship vs not liking the answer to the question you've asked them (ie do I need surgery or not?)

 

[bvdr]

Blanche, first of all I'm sorry you are going through this but it sounds like something that needs to be addressed as you are already doing.

I had the full works done in January of 1999. An abdominal hysterectomy with a bilateral salpingo-oopherectomy for a rapidly enlarging uterus and a mass on my right ovary. No cancer was found. The mass was a benign adenoma. My surgeon said it was unexpectedly difficult and I have to say I remember the recovery time was more difficult than after OHS. I was expecting to be down a few days and then back to normal in a couple of weeks. It was not the case. It was the first time I did not bounce right back after surgery. Perhaps it was the existing, though not yet detected, heart problems. I just don't know. I also was expecting my belly would be flatter since a 22-24 week gestation size uterus was removed but it wasn't. I wasn't expecting the abdominal numbness that would last for many months either. It was just much more difficult than I expected. Like we say around here so often, very doable but certainly not pleasant.

 

[Nancy]

Had a complete hyst. many years ago, full abdominal incision. It would have been an OK recovery, but I developed a rather large infection that "blew out" while I was home. Recovery from this draining infection was quite protracted, since it had to heal from the inside and had to be packed.

Nonetheless, I managed to take a two-day professional exam during that time. I wore a tight garment to keep things from opening up again, took my antibiotics, packed the site good, and passed the exam.

The thing that surprised me was that the day after surgery in the hospital, I started with hot flashes. No grace time there, just Bam!.

I did have to take estrogen replacements, and who knows? Those might have produced my breast cancer which I was treated for this past year.

If you have to have it, then you have to have it. Not much in the line of choices.

So it's a doable thing.

You might want to ask about estrogen and the good and the bad.

Right now, I am totally without estrogen and taking Arimidex which wipes out any lingering hormone. Yes, I have hot flashes, but no choice there also. So it is possible to go without estrogen, something you really need to discuss at length with your doctor.

 

[tobagotwo]

My wife also had the numbness that you refer to, Betty. To this day, the area around the scar feels "wrong" to her, in terms of numbness and skin sensation.

Blanche, you may not need it, but if someone reading does have cause to go on HRT (hormone replacement therapy), I would suggest they discuss with their doctor only using it short-term, as a transition, and going for a low-dose variety if possible. More does not seem to be better.

Best wishes,

 

[weekycat]

Hi Blanche,

Hi Blanche,

I'm sorry to hear about what you're going through. I had a LAVH in Oct of 2002, but kept my ovaries. Two months later, my aunt was diagnosed with ovarian cancer...she had also had a hysterectomy years earlier. I had a few doctors tell me that I should have the oopherectomy at the same time, and I MIGHT have, if I'd have known about my aunt.

However, my younger sister was fighting breast cancer at the time too, so I really didn't want to do the HRT thing either.

Unfortunately, neither my sister or my aunt won their battles with the big C. So, here I sit, with my ovaries still in place...wondering if they are just time bombs waiting to go off. My doctor says I should have an ultrasound of them every year...I guess I'm due for one.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and I know I've mentioned it here before, but there is a very helpful site, (very much like this one) with a few thousand wonderful women who can answer all of your questions.
Check out HysterSisters.com

 

[Blanche]

Many, many thanks

Many, many thanks

You all have helped more than you know.

Carolyn, I should have mentioned that I had three CA-125 tests, all of which did not show any elevation. You are right, and it was good of you to remind me that the big open excision has the benefit of not needing a second surgery should there be problems. Right now, there are no indications of cancer, but I'm once again thinking that this is the way to go. I must remind myself to remember this. I think you also showed me that I am in danger of chasing a particular method, when I should indeed be looking for the best method and the best doctor to do that method. Important!

Betty, this will be my third abdominal surgery. You have reminded me why I am looking for an easier way. It really is difficult and painful. You know, I wanted to forget this. It was good of you to wake me up. Since I know what to expect, what I really need to do is make preparations to ease the recovery. When the times get hard, I will look at the sign on my wall that now says, .......Very DOABLE but certainly not pleasant. Thank you for sharing your experience with me. It did help a great deal.

Nancy, you reminded me of the tight garment. I wore something like that when I had my uterus out. As I recall, it helped a great deal, especially at first. I need to look into that. I have not thought of that in 20 years. Appreciate your reactivating my recollection. Thankfully it is unlikely that I will have the troublesome problems with hot flashes and the like. I did go through HRT for the first year of menopause, but that is now long over. I was lucky. I didn't have a difficult time with that. Appreciate your suggestions.

Jean, I am so sorry about your sister and aunt. It is hard to be in a family where loved ones are stricken like that. My grandmother died of breast cancer. It did not follow in the family, but my sister and I have always had that in the back of our minds. Doctors tried to convince me to have an oopherectromy when I had my hysterectomy in 1984. I resisted, and I am very glad that I did. Even though I am now facing surgery because of a cyst on the ovary, I would do the same thing again. My ovaries served me well over the last 20 years and I pray that yours will do the same with no problems. And, thank you so much for the Hyster Sisters site info. I'm going there next.

Speaking with people who have had similar circumstances does help...so very much. Thank you all.

Kindest regards,

Blanche

 

[Blanche]

It has been two months since I first posted looking for guidance and support for my ovarian cyst problem. In that time, thanks to Jean, I spent hours on the web and especially on Hystersisters.com. I kept draging my feet about the pelvic surgery because everything I read still pointed to the possibility of having this surgery with a less invasive procedure.

I spoke to my PCP about putting off the surgery and just "watching and waiting," which is an acceptable medical procedure for my condition. He was really upset with my choice. He insisted that I needed to deal with this once and for all. I love my doc, so pressured by him, I referred myself to the Mayo Clinic. I chose the doctor who is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Javier Magrina. I saw him last Tuesday.

On June 20, 2005, I am scheduled for robotic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy on an outpatient basis with no restrictions or limitations postoperatively other than those as a result of discomfort. When I spoke with Dr. Magrina, who will do the surgery, he said I was a perfect candidate for the procedure. He also said that he could not believe that there were doctors "out there" who were still doing radical surgery for a problem that could be solved so easily with laproscopic procedures. He also said that should there be cancer, which is not expected, that too could be taken care of right then and there laproscopically. He says he performs most hysterectomies and cancer surgery laproscopically with the help of the little robot. Imagine that!!!

I hope there is something here to be learned by others who are in need of any kind of surgery. I accepted what I was told. I believed that I needed pelvic surgery just in case there was cancer. It seemed logical to me. Still, I kept having that niggling feeling that something was not right. I heard the doctors saying, "we're going to cut you open in case we need to cut you open!" The first doc even wrote that he would have a gynecological surgeon in the operating room, available if necessary. What's wrong with this picture? If there's a gyn surgeon in the operating room, why isn't he the one operating? Fear and stress clouds judgement.

My advice, if I may be so bold, to anyone needing surgery would be....GO to the top! Find the biggest expert you can, and, if you have a facility in your area that is like the Mayo Clinic or one that specializes in your problem, get another opinion from the top.

Kindest regards,
Blanche

 

[Nancy]

Good for you, Blanche. I'm so glad you have a terrific and up to date surgeon at a fine facility. I have no doubt that you will do very well. I'm sorry you have to have the surgery, but you'll be in the best of hands.

 

[Ross]

Thata girl!

 

[hensylee]

As I have been reading all of this, saw your final decision, I thought "Aren't we glad we have Nancy! She'd say 'right on, girl'; keep looking and checking"; was going to tell you so and the next post was NANCY'S! She said just that.

Good for you. We are listening - and learning.

 

[strawberry]

Ok Gals w/Ovarian cysts I have some questions:

Ok Gals w/Ovarian cysts I have some questions:

I was going to post on ovarian cysts but saw this thread and decided to jump on board. Short version: Went to the doc for my annual (well, quarterly after my Leep procedure). She sees a "spot" on my cervix that looks like endometriosis. I was at the tail end of a week bout of intense pelvic pain. I thought it was a bad flare up of my interstitial cystitis, the worst I'd had in a while. A week later, I get what seems to be my "friend", although heavier and more painful than usual, and I wasn't due for two more weeks. Remembering the spot on my cervix, I go back to the doc who acts like she can't figure out why I'm there: "Lots of women have midcycle bleeding." Well, I never have, and this is heavier than ovulation bleeding. Whatever. She sends me for an ultrasound "just in case." That was Wed. On Fri, being the jaded, impatient medical veteran that I am, went and got a copy of the report from the hospital.

It said 1.9 cm complex cyst on right ovary. It says "small", but I see Blanche's started out at 1.8. I am premenopausal thoug (obvioulsy). So could this just be one of those ovulatory things or since it's complex is it automatically not functional? I wonder if it could have been larger and burst and if that's what the pain was. That's the problem with having a chronic pain condition, you blame everything on that in that area (kind of like having a heart condition and blaming every chest twinge on that).

I haven't heard from the gyno yet, I wonder what she'll say. Do you think it could have burst and just shrunk but still be there? It was pretty painful....as painful as when I first got IC but not as painful as appendicititis. Or my kidney stone. I told you I'm a medical veteran. Help!

 

[Granbonny]

When I was age 23..and just returned from a walking trip in Europe..I had severe back pain..Went to several doctors who could not find anything..... Then, on a flight to Miami (Stewardess in Stone Age) It got so bad that my pilots called for an ambulance to meet the flight..Long story, short, they found a cyst the size of a grapefruit on my right ovary... Removed my right ovary....When I married I was afraid I could not have Children.......Daughter was born 13 months after I was married and son 21 months later.. That left ovary was really doing overtime..Never a problem since...Still have the old plumbings..and all yearly pap-smears are normal. ...My best 50th birthday present was when my monthly curse left..Same day... Bonnie

 

[lance]

Hi Blanceh,

Are you anti-coagulated?

Good for you for getting more than one opinion and sourcing a "name" hospital.