Pelvic Floor reconstruction surgery - DO NOT DO THIS! MY STORY!

Submitted by sweetpea on February 17, 2008 - 7:50pm
Body: 

I had "pelvic floor reconstruction surgery" to correct a slightly elongated sigmoid colon that dropped into the rectovaginal space after having a hysterectomy. The docs I went to said this would only work if they raised my pelvic floor, raised my bladder that didn't need raising and do a vaginal vault resuspension that didn't need it. More money for more procedures. At the time I didn't know how to interpret my own test results so did not know that they were lying that I needed all this. I ended up with small bowel loops trapped under my pelvic floor; had small bowel obstructions for 7 months and could not eat. Lost huge bone mass and muscle mass. Also my rectum was turned at a right angle and my bladder is now overcorrected. Could not defecate for 13 months without huge amounts of laxative to literally melt stool down to get it beyond a right angled rectum (and also a sigmoid anastomosis stricture that formed that the surgeon did not address.) After seeing 10 docs at 6 major medical centers across the US a doc finally relocated the small bowel loops and had to do a permanent ileostomy as the colon had been so damaged. Am trying to sue original surgeons, case is in medmal review. DO NOT DO THIS! If some organ is actually hanging out of you, get that one organ fixed. Leave the rest alone. Learn how to interpret your own pre-op tests, call your state medical board and get docket numbers of law suits on your doc if any. Go to the local courthouse and get copies of these suits. I KNOW this sounds paranoid and unreal, but I am severely damaged for life and am only 51. Was totally healthy prior to the surgery. Only problem was incomplete rectal emptying. So what I could have just spent more time on the john. Now I am wrecked. I am however, lucky to be alive and very grateful to the surgeon who saved my life. Life with ileostomy is better than no life. I still face threat of reobstruction if adhesions regrow but so far so good. Need to rebuild bone and muscle mass. Sincerely, Sweetpea

louiseds

February 17, 2008 - 9:11pm

Sweetpea, I am just so sad that all this has happened to you. I am amazed that you are able to rationally post about it, and even give thanks that you have come out of it alive. I take my hat off to you for at least letting us know what you have been through, as a warning to others, even though it must hurt to have to tell it all again. More women need to read stories like yours. Periodically women do post here who have had terrible experiences with surgeries that have left them in a similar state to yours.

As you said, the lesson is, don't mess with stuff that isn't broken. Unfortunately, the statistics show that the first surgery, although fraught with risks and potential complications as yours was, is the most successful. The more procedures a woman has to fix the mess left by the previous procedure, the less likely it is that she will get any improvement. It all just collapses like a house of cards, as natural structure after natural structure is destroyed and propped up again artificially.

One of the hardest things for us to do is to get the word out to women before that first surgery, when they take the gyno's word that surgery is the only solution for prolapse and sign up for a life of surgery. Talk about the deception some of these gyno's peddle! It makes me think of Sweeney Todd.

I do not know if Wholewoman posture will help you to reposition your pelvic organs to help prevent further damage. However, the diet guidelines and clothing and lifestyle guidelines on the main website are all good commonsense measures, and postural improvements will help your overall wellbeing. I hope youcan get some benefit from them.

I can see that this is going to be a major life project for you, getting justice for yourself and hopefully for others.

If you come across women who experience prolapse and incontinence related things would you be so kind as to direct these women to this site before they consider surgery? Once a women has had a surgical repair it is much harder to get stabilisation and improvement of symptoms. There is a really comprehensive and easy to understand description of the different types of repair surgeries and the risks and complication rates for them in Christine Kent's book, Saving the Whole Woman. You can buy it from the online shop at the main site, www.wholewoman.com. Best wishes to you as you make the most of these horrible experiences you have had.

Louise