Posts from — February 2007

Yet another long silence to be broken. Blah, blah with the bad blogger instance again. Again, promising myself I’ll try to be better. In my defense though I’ve had a few things going on that have prevented me from writing. While cathartic, I trend to put things like blogging on the back burner when I’m having trouble. I’ve debated with myself for quite a while about how much to share on this blog. In the past, I’ve kept it mostly to knitting. I’m not really big on sharing feelings/personal stuff with even my closest friends. However, I really think the information I’m about to share though could be helpful and so I’m brushing aside my usual preference for privacy to tell you something more personal than usual.

I had a hysterectomy yesterday. Yes…yesterday. It’s absolutely unbelievable to me that I can sit here (actually laying down propped up) and write a post when just 24 hours ago I was barely out of surgery. Traditionally, a hysterectomy quite an invasive surgery requiring a couple of days in the hospital and 4-6 weeks of recovery. Lucky for me, I live in an area where I had the option for not only a laparoscopic hysterectomy but a laparoscopic hysterectomy aided by the Da Vinci Robot. It’s quite fascinating. It was originally used for heart surgery but has now been approved for other procedures. The robot allows the doctor a level of precision that is just not available through traditional surgery. Instead of using their hands to operate, they can use much smaller devices through the aid of the robot. You can read more about the robot at my hospital’s web site, Tri Health or at the manufacturer’s website, Intuitive Surgical. 

The main benefit of the surgery is the same as an laparoscopic procedure…less invasive=easier recovery.  As active as I am the thought of being out of commission for over a month was inconceivable.  Also, although there are more incisions (5) they are VERY small.  Not everyone is a candidate for this type of surgery and the robot is so expensive that not all hospitals/cities have one.  I almost wasn’t a candidate myself…my uterus was a regular gym bag.  By the time I finally got on the operating table one of my fibroids was the size of a bowling ball (!!!!!! does that even seem possible???), one a baseball and many golf balls.  Thank goodness Dr. Firestein took the extra time that was required to do the surgery this way despite the fact that my fibroids had gotten even bigger in just the 2 months since scheduling it.  By the way…he is a fantastic doctor so if you’re anywhere near Cincinnati I highly recommend him.

Keep in mind of course, I am on drugs.  If this post isn’t totally coherent, I have an excuse!  If you ever have need of this surgery or know of someone having it…please, please, please tell her of this option.