My young altered life

My Husband, Mom and myself flew to Arizona for my surgery. We went to my pre-op appointment, but instead of seeing the surgeon, we met with his fellowship student. He explained the upcoming procedure and directions for my bowel prep (Yuck). It was explained that my radiology report showed that my fallopian tubes were damaged, and they may remove them during surgery. I asked if I could request they not take them out unless the damage would cause major complications; since, I would be so disappointed if a few years from now, medicine discovers a way to repair damaged fallopian tubes. The doctor agreed I had a valid concern and said they would not remove them. He said that IVF would be the most likely option for me in the future, but even that has risks for future ectopic pregnancies. He also explained that there is a possibility that my pain would return and I would need to see a pain specialist.

The next day, I checked into the hospital for surgery at 6:00 am. I met the Anesthesiologist along with his fellows who started my IV. Then the massive (6-7 people) surgical team came to see me and ask if I had any last minute questions before going to prepare the operating room. The preparations took longer than expected because of the complexity of the DiVinci robot, so they came to get me around 8:00 am. One of the Anesthesiologists gave me some more sedation and rolled me into the OR. I remember expressing how amazed I was when I saw the room and the robot. The Anesthesiologist jokingly said, “The surgeon’s skills are amazing with this machine, but you should see when he makes it dance.” I laughed and that’s the last thing I remember before waking up.

The doctor spoke with my husband after surgery. He told him that my right fallopian tube had a massive hole in it and there was necrotic tissue surrounding the tube, connecting everything together. He removed the dead tissue along with a portion of the tube. The tube was then reconnected. The adhesion's were removed along with my appendix. He said my intestines looked good after they were freed, so no bowel resection was necessary. He also removed tissue that looked like endometriosis to be tested and explained that if I had endometriosis, that may have been the cause of my ectopic pregnancy, but the adhesions were most likely caused by the ruptured tube. My uterus was tilted because of the adhesions, so he suspended it back into place with sutures.

I was in shock when I found out that my tube had ruptured. Three times I went to the emergency room yet nothing was done. To this day I wonder how I survived. I have had medical professionals say to me, “if your tube had ruptured you would be dead.” Therefore, I always take my surgical report with me to prove that I am not exaggerating.

For over six months I had a hole in my tube. I really want to know if this has happened to anyone else. None of my doctors want to talk about it because of the liability. In fact, after my surgery, I never saw that surgeon again. He had his assistants deal with me, and they, conveniently had very little knowledge about my case.

Posted by Journey77