Guest Post: From Minor Surgery to Major Surgery

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Note: Today is Day 21 of my 30 day blog challenge. If you want to get my random thoughts about random stuff in your inbox, you can subscribe at the bottom of any post or mash the RSS button if that’s how you roll. 

If you’re just joining in on my ongoing uterine drama, you can catch up here:

Today I had what I referred to as the ‘Special Session’ surgery. After two failed attempts to remove my IUD which had apparently become stuck, the doctor offered me a slot opened by a cancellation to put me under and go in and fish it out.

The plan was either to replace with a new one that was correctly placed, or do an endometrial ablation. I went back and forth A LOT just trying to decide what to do, but based on the doctor’s advice, eventually decided on the ablation.

However, things did not quite go as planned.

With that, I turn you over to my lovely wife Jessica (who also happens to be a nurse), to recount her version of the day’s events 1.

Kronda got some IV Versed immediately prior to getting taken to the operating room (OR) for removal of her embedded IUD and an endometrial ablation performed to stop all of this crazy bleeding and painful cramps she has been experiencing the past several months.

Kronda likely did not remember anything after that [You can say that again. ~K].  I was hungry, so went to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite to eat.  The procedure was supposed to take 20-30 minutes, so I did not have much time.  I ate my snack while sitting outside in the beautiful garden at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital.

I then headed back to the surgical waiting area to wait for Dr S to come and brief me on the procedure.  About 30 minutes after Kronda left for the OR, I received a call on my cell phone.  It was Dr S herself.  She unexpectedly found a large fibroid inside of Kronda’s uterus and wanted consent to remove it.

While I knew Kronda would want it removed, she also was very clear that she was doing this procedure today knowing that it would be a quick and easy procedure with minimal recovery time.  Kronda is speaking at Wordcamp Portland this coming Saturday and she will also be flying to California soon for a cousin’s baby shower.  So that was my trepidation about giving permission, as I knew this would mean a longer time under anesthesia and “the knife” and a longer recovery time.

I gave Dr S the permission to remove this alien baby and hoped Kronda would not be upset with me for making this decision. [I wasn’t ~K]

As I watched Kronda’s OR time pass on the computer screen they provide to surgical waiting families, it was 1.5 hours before it said “finishing”.  That is when I received a call from the OR nurse that they were finishing the case and Dr S would be out soon to speak with me.
When Dr S arrived, she said, “Well, she is a bit of a problem child.” We went to the consult room and she spent the next 20 minutes telling me what happened, what her findings were, and where were going to go from here.
The removal of the fibroid went well until she was about 2/3 done. Kronda then dropped her pCO2 (carbon dioxide) levels and there was concern she may have gotten an air emboli (air into the venous or arterial system) from the surgery. While unlikely, it is possible and Dr S did not want to take any chances.  They ran an arterial blood gas and all looked mostly ok, but she still wanted to end the procedure a bit early, meaning she only removed about 2/3 of what she wanted to.
She also told me she could not find Kronda’s IUD!!! [What. The Hell. ~K] That was a bit disconcerting.  She explained that the IUD may have been expelled on its own with all of K’s bleeding, but she could not be sure.
The next step will be an ultrasound to further investigate how much of this fibroid is left inside her uterus and how much is hanging on the outside.  Originally, the ultrasound back in April or May showed a relatively large fibroid on the outside of her uterus, thus, the scheduled robotic surgery for myomectomy (removal of fibroid) on the outside of her uterus for August 20.  Yes, a much more invasive surgery than going through the cervix, but necessary if she is bleeding so much with that external fibroid.
Little did we know of this large internal fibroid.  Dr S thinks maybe we can avoid this next more invasive surgery, as she thinks the internal fibroid is really the culprit of all of K’s bleeding and cramps.  Dr S was very sweet and apologetic that things did not go as planned and that she would have had an entirely different plan had she known Kronda had this large fibroid inside her uterus.  Time and ultrasound will tell us more. The mystery of the missing IUD is yet to be solved.

Asides

  1. 1. You’ll get my drugged version later. (Back)

This post is part of the thread: 2013 Battle With Fibroids – an ongoing story on this site. View the thread timeline for more context on this post.

Related posts:

  1. When Minor Surgery Isn’t (The Patient Perspective)
  2. Post Surgery Update
  3. Health Update
  4. Third Time’s A Charm (A Surgery Trilogy)

4 Comments


  1. Whoa. It’s like a macabre game of Where’s Waldo!

    Reply

  2. Jeez, man. Mary has been going through fun procedures the last 12 months as well. And every time they seem surprised by her uterus and its hoarding tendencies.

    I hope your recovery is speedy, Kronda!

    Reply

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