Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Endometrial Ablation

The results from the biopsy that I spoke of during the last post came back and I do not have cancer (big surprise... but it really is still great news).

I had my ablation surgery yesterday and it was a breeze! They kept me waiting around at the hospital before it forever (they were really booked and I think there's a possibility that Dr. Owens was running late due to another surgery or something). Anyway, they put me under general anesthesia for it and I think I was asleep for a total of like 45 minutes or something. It was pretty sweet, they used a gas mask on me and kept telling me to take deep breaths, I counted three deep breaths and I was out. I woke up in recovery and was fine. After he was done, Dr. Owens showed Devonn before and after pictures of my uterus which is too cool.

They ended up getting to do the hydrothermablation procedure where they use hot saline to burn and destroy the lining of the uterus. This procedure is more thorough as the saline reaches all the crevices of the uterus destroying it all. It works better for an abnormally shaped uterus and fibroid tumors as well (ie- me). So the goal and the hope for us, is that I will not have periods at all. Dr. Owens said that no periods is about a 60% chance and that totally normally menstrual cycles (no mid-cycle bleeding and periods that last 4-5 days) is about a 90% chance. Did you know that a normal period only lasts 4-5 days? That's crazy! Mine last like 8 and the thing that really caused me to see the Dr. is that since Lexi, I basically spotted and/or bled three weeks out of the month. Blah, Blah.

Anyway, I took a long nap when I came home yesterday, mostly just cause I could, not because I was really overly tired. The cramping was moderate, not unlike bad period cramps. I took tylenol with codeine which took the edge slightly away. This morning, I woke up feeling pretty good. I still have some mild cramping when I let Lexi stand on my stomach and stuff- but nothing serious and nothing that warrants medication at all.

I just have to give a shout out to Dr. Owens and his staff- they are truly awesome! They are so proactive with my care. They don't fiddle around and make me wait for results, they do the testing they need to do right away, give me my options, and help me make informed decisions about my healthcare. I always get an immediate personal call from Dr. Owens or Laura (the nurse practitioner) with test results or a call from Rosie (the RN) the day after any surgery or procedure. They all know exactly what they're doing with our insurance (it can be a pain since it's not good, private insurance). And even the medical assistants are outgoing, friendly, and remember you each visit. They have a super full patient load, yet I've still never waited in the waiting room more than 15 minutes and they still treat you like you're important to them. I was in Rosie's office getting all the information I needed for my surgery and I was looking at her pictures and apparently, Dr. Owens takes his entire staff on annual vacations to exotic locations as well as to medical conferences and such to keep them all up to date on the latest info in obstetrics and gynecology. I wish he could have been my physician all along, but now that I have him, I'm determined to keep him until he retires (which better be when he's in his 90's or something).

Anyway, I'll keep everyone updated on the ablation results.

1 comment:

  1. Yay, glad to hear it went so smoothly! Having a fantastic doctor makes everything so great- I need to find an OB/GYN that amazing as well around here. I've had bad luck.

    Hope your recovery is speedier than ever!

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