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3 weeks following posterior repair- self examination!

Posted , 4 users are following.

jane0212
jane0212

I'm three weeks post op from a posterior repair.

I decided to check how things were (internally) this evening and to my shock I discovered that one of the main complaints (if not THE main complaint) has not been addressed at all, in fact it seems much worse!!

I had a very traumatic childbirth 5 years ago which left me with a posterior prolapse (relatively mild) but so much damage internally that it felt like I had no distinct vaginal "canal". I hope someone can relate to this. I could move my finger an inch to the left or right and friction was almost non-existent.

If hoped this would be addressed - my surgeon assured me it would be - and to my horror it is still there. I'm devastated.

I'm due to see him in the morning but he assured me via the telephone that it was normal and that scar tissue would provide the "tightening" effect but I can't believe it could tighten - it actually feels larger.

Please could someone offer any reassurance!?

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • Ellie1943
    Ellie1943 jane0212

    Posted

    Hi Jane. Ask your surgeon to examine you in the morning, insist! If you're not happy about results he/she will have to think again and proceed from there. Having said that, it's difficult to know by self examination what is right or not, they should check all that at the appointment if it's your post op one. Good luck, Ellie
    • jane0212
      jane0212 Ellie1943

      Posted

      Thanks Ellie

      I'm about to go in to my consultation now and he's promised to talk me through everything and discuss my concerns.

      I'll update as soon as I have more info as I think it's important to follow up!

  • Jan999
    Jan999 jane0212

    Posted

    As your operation was only 3 weeks ago I would never advise putting a finger into your vagina. Despite how clean your hands are it's still an easy way to introduce infection. I can't imagine your consultant will be very impressed. You still have a long way to go before you heal completely anyway.
    • jane0212
      jane0212 Jan999

      Posted

      Hi Matron

      I'm a nurse and used an aseptic technique (clean hands and strerile dressing pack) when I examined so I'm sure that aspect of the examination will be ok.

      The consultant had given me permission to check as he wanted me to have some idea of what's "going on down there" prior to our consultation.

    • Jan999
      Jan999 jane0212

      Posted

      As long as everything was sterile then that's ok but after working in gynaecology for more years than I care to remember I've never known a Urogynaecologist tell a patient it's ok  to check, even a nurse.
    • jane0212
      jane0212 Jan999

      Posted

      Examination over.

      He used a medium speculum to examine and cut out the internal sutures and one external suture to the perineum.

      He agreed with my belief that there still remained looseness but advised that he couldn't make anything tighter due to the muscle damage that had occurred during my forceps delivery but that it was "tight enough" and I'd just have to live with it, basically.

      He also advised pelvic floor exercises.

      I'm going to leave everything for a month and recheck it because if this is what I'm going to have to live with I really don't even want to have to deal with it just yet.

      It feels like a completely pointless procedure at this moment as I haven't seen any benefits whatsoever.

    • Jan999
      Jan999 jane0212

      Posted

      That's a shame jane but I really hope it does improve. Sadly I've seen a lot of damage caused by forceps deliveries and your comments have reminded me of this so I think some research into it would be a good idea. Keep in touch with how it all goes.
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