So, went for my pre-op appointment this morning. Since it will be my third laparoscopy, I sorta consider myself an "old pro" by now. I even told hubby not to come with me, he needs to save his "personal time" for the surgery and the follow up appointments. Big mistake! I showed up, they took my vitals and ushered me into the RE's office. He sits me down and we begin the preliminary "pre-op" speech. I have given this speech a dozen times myself to other patients while performing pre-op exams and consults. I know all the risks and signed all of the papers. Everything was on auto pilot until I heard the word "salpingectomy".
"Whoa!"
RE stops and smiles, "Yes?"
"Um, you mentioned a salpingectomy?"
Peering down through his round little glasses, " Well, yes, I am gonna need you to sign this little line that allows me to perform a salpingectomy if needed."
"You mean, remove my tube?"
"Well, yes, assuming that only one tube is compromised from the scarring from the ectopic, we would only need to remove one tube."
My heart sank. He actually thinks he is gonna remove a fallopian tube? My fallopian tube?? And he wants me to sign a paper to agree to it? Where is my husband when I need him? I can't sign this paper. He might actually remove a tube. I could potentially wake up from surgery and be missing a very key portion of my female anatomy. The worst part? I have to sign the form knowing that I won't be able to wake up to make that decision. I will be put under general anesthesia and the doctor will be the one who decides if my tube stays or goes without consulting me first. Granted, I do trust him. At least, I think I do. Of course he agrees that removing a tube is only "if absolutely needed", but at what costs? I really wish I would have brought my husband or at least somebody else to ask important questions...after all, I think I was in shock. But, what choice do I have? If the tube is scarred, my chances of having another ectopic are much higher.
So, I am keeping all my fingers and toes crossed and praying very hard that I get to come out of surgery with all of my parts still intact. My worst fear is waking up from surgery and hearing horrible stories of bleeding, and emergency hysterectomy...I know it's a very long shot, but I guess hearing about the potential of losing a tube has really shaken me up.
Note to self: bring the hubby next time.
Dear Ashlie,
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled onto your blog again while putting together out myth buster posts at the LiWBC (this is Kim :o). Oh my goodness, my friend... this is a lot to handle. You don't HAVE to sign that paper my dear... you really don't. I didn't. I had a fight with my RE for over an hour (yes, a literal fight) over this same topic until he finally backed down and agreed to just remove scar tissue. My new RE says that I made the best decision for me. If you are not comfortable, do not leave it in his hands. The best person to make decisions for your body is you. If you are at peace, go forward. But if there is any part of you that is unsure, don't do it. A friend of mine on Inspire/Resolve just had that surgery to remove one tube and woke up with none... I really don't want to scare you but this is important enough to be forward about.
Read, think, pray... just don't succumb to pressure for the sake of pressure.
Your friend,
Kim
Kim-
ReplyDeleteThank you for for thoughts! I am a nervous wreck about the whole procedure now! Unfortunately, since I did have the one ectopic pregnancy, I am scared to death about having another one! So, if he does find scarring that could potentially increase my risks for another ectopic, I want it out...at least, I know that's the right thing to do. My heart and my brain are telling me two different things!!