NHS laparoscopic myomectomy, a personal account.

I decided to share my personal experience of a laparoscopic myomectomy because, even though this is a fairly common surgery, when I was preparing for mine I couldn’t find any patient accounts I could relate to and I am hoping that by sharing what to expect I can help minimise anxiety for other women.

Surgery details

Type: Laparoscopic Myomectomy to remove a 6CM intramural fibroid

Consultant: Mr Stephen Quinn and team

Where: St.Mary’s gyno – op taken place in the Lindo Wing private hospital because of Covid protocol

When: 28th July 2020 – Admission at 7:30AM

2 weeks pre-surgery

I had to shield for two weeks prior to surgery. Two days before surgery I was instructed to go to a drive in Covid centre based in Charing Cross Hospital to take a Covid and blood tests.

Day of the surgery

I was instructed to arrive at 7:30AM nil-by-mouth from 6AM. My husband was allowed as far as the reception where I was met by a member of staff and taken to my room. It is worth mentioning he wasn’t allowed to come in and see me at all during my stay, which was a little upsetting.

Once in my room I was asked to put my hospital gown and DVT stockings on – ironically they would become the thing I hated the most about the whole experience !!! Once changed my vital stats, one more blood test and another Covid test were taken. I was then separately visited by the surgeon and the anaesthetist. **TIP 1: I was petrified about this op and had spent two weeks really anxious however when it came to talking about my fears with the surgeon and anaesthetist I couldn’t quite explain what I was scared of. Have a think about exactly what scares you before you go in so that your care team will be able to reassure you accordingly.

It turned out my fears were around the possibilities of things going and I’d have to have an open myomectomy (so big cut instead of small incisions) and I was scared of not being in control when given general. Both of these concerns were addressed by the team and I was reassured and much calmer by the time they took me down to theatre.

At around 10AM I was taken to OP by the anaesthetist technician and the whole anaesthetists care team was waiting for me. I had no idea, but they are the ones who are truly compassionate and really take care of you emotionally as well as physically as a patient. They reassured me, talked me through the whole procedure and made me feel really comfortable. The consultant explained I had to options for pain relief: intravenous (through drip) or epidural (spinal injection). **TIP 2 If you can, opt for epidural as you will feel way less sick when I came around after the op. I chose the epidural and was administer the spinal injection – which was completely painless and I can highly recommend. I lay down and was then administered general whilst breathing through an oxygen mask.

I woke up in the recovery room, slightly confused – as if I had been awaken from a very very deep sleep. I didn’t feel sick at all, just a bit spaced out. The only side effect I had from anaesthesia was shaking and slight itching on my skin. I was being closely monitored by a lovely nurse and, when he was happy with my stats, I was wheeled back to my room.

There I was fitted with a DVT machine on my legs – this works like a blood pressure machine and inflates around your calves very 30seconds to promote circulation. Another item I grew to hate with passion over the course of the day and night!

It is worth mentioning that I was fitted with a catheter whilst under general which was removed the morning after the op. This was completely painless and did not bother me at all. **TIP 3: I brought with me some gin-gin sweets, they really helped me when I felt slightly nauseous, thus avoiding more meds. Nothing to report for the rest of the day or night – vital stats were taken at intervals, I was given pain killers and ate both lunch and dinner. Drunk a lot of water and tea, which helped. Early in the morning I was taken for a little walk down the corridor and, once the catheter was removed, monitored for urine. Once the right amount was passed I was allowed to go home by the consultant – who came by to see me and reassured me everything went well.

**Day after the surgery **

At 12:30PM I was discharged with a load of painkillers and some laxative – you will be constipated for a couple of days from the meds. **TIP 3 Make sure you have a pillow in the car to put over your tummy, this will protect you and make the seatbelt less uncomfortable. In fact this pillow will become your best friend as you will want to protect your tummy in the days to come.

Recovery

The first 3-4 days are uncomfortable, mainly because your tummy is huge. When they perform a laparoscopy they pump gas in your abdominal cavity so they can see more clearly, this gas stays in your abdomen for a few days. On top of that you are constipated so you will feel like a small balloon. But it won’t last long. These are my top tips to deal with the bloating:

• Get a heated pad – this is like a small electric blanket. You can pick one up on amazon for less than £20. It is by far the best purchase I made for this op, it helped me with discomfort and pain immensely and I cannot recommend it enough.

• For the first couple of days liquidise your meals – I had organic veg soups with chicken breast mostly; that way they are easier to digest and you get a lot of nutrients back into your system.

• Try and walk as much as you can. First few days it will be hard but force yourself to walk around your house hugging your pillow over your tummy, this will help get things going and get rid of the gas.

• Have protein with all your meals, this will help with the healing process. I also added Omega 3+6 oil and collagen to most meals to help with healing and ease digestion.

• Do not take any wind medications – like windeeze or Rennies etc. They might be tempting but they won’t help, the gas is trapped in your abdominal cavity not in your gut, it will be absorbed by your body and disposed of. Wind medications can make you more constipated and you really don’t want that at this stage!

I am on day 8 of recovery and I am feeling so much better, my tummy has gone down loads, dressing has come off and I have started massaging my scars with Bio oil. I went on two longish walks yesterday and I am going out for dinner tonight. So, don’t worry, you will feel much better very quickly and try and relax, you will be looked after and it will be done before you know it. Just focus on how much better your quality of life will be without your fibroid/s!!

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