Submucosal Fibroid Removal -- Advice/Stories about Procedures

jessk1983

Hello ladies,

I am 34 and my husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 9 months without success.  We had a fertility work up done and the only finding was that I have a medium/large fibroid that the doctor thinks might be seriously impacting my ability to conceive.  I'm thinking over various options about where to go from here and was wondering if others had had similar experiences?

For a few details: I have a 4.6 centimeter submucosal fibroid that is extending about 50% into the cavity.  It has caused me to have very heavy bleeding with my periods, but not a lot of pain.  I met with the surgeon yesterday and he said that he thinks he can try to remove it transvaginally with hysteroscope, but he thought there were 50/50 odds that he'd need to do the procedure twice to completely remove it (probably do the first round at the end of this month and then the second in another month or month and a half).  He said if I wanted to definitely have it done with in one shot, I could go for a laparoscopic myomectomy procedure, but that has a longer recovery period (he said about two weeks).

The shorter recovery time for the hysteroscopic procedure is definitely attractive (even if I have to do it twice), but I worry about the risk of adhesions forming inside my uterine cavity and making my fertility situation even worse than with the fibroid itself.  I'm leaning toward doing the laparoscopy since it doesn't actually cut inside the uterus and thus can't form adhesions (although he said that I would probably need a c-section if I go the laparoscopic route), but I want to talk to him about adhesions again before I go ahead with it.

In the mean time, I was wondering if there were others who had had a choice between procedures and how you made that decisions and if you were happy with it?  Am I worrying too much about adhesions?  Maybe we should try for a few more cycles before having the surgery?

(Also since I have seen a few other posts in the past asking about how much time off for ttc, the surgeon said that he thought that with either procedure I could start trying to conceive again after three cyles (the one immediately after the procedure and then two more).

Thanks for any thoughts!

harrierwife

kiki047

jessk1983 said:

Hello ladies,

I am 34 and my husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 9 months without success.  We had a fertility work up done and the only finding was that I have a medium/large fibroid that the doctor thinks might be seriously impacting my ability to conceive.  I'm thinking over various options about where to go from here and was wondering if others had had similar experiences?

For a few details: I have a 4.6 centimeter submucosal fibroid that is extending about 50% into the cavity.  It has caused me to have very heavy bleeding with my periods, but not a lot of pain.  I met with the surgeon yesterday and he said that he thinks he can try to remove it transvaginally with hysteroscope, but he thought there were 50/50 odds that he'd need to do the procedure twice to completely remove it (probably do the first round at the end of this month and then the second in another month or month and a half).  He said if I wanted to definitely have it done with in one shot, I could go for a laparoscopic myomectomy procedure, but that has a longer recovery period (he said about two weeks).

The shorter recovery time for the hysteroscopic procedure is definitely attractive (even if I have to do it twice), but I worry about the risk of adhesions forming inside my uterine cavity and making my fertility situation even worse than with the fibroid itself.  I'm leaning toward doing the laparoscopy since it doesn't actually cut inside the uterus and thus can't form adhesions (although he said that I would probably need a c-section if I go the laparoscopic route), but I want to talk to him about adhesions again before I go ahead with it.

In the mean time, I was wondering if there were others who had had a choice between procedures and how you made that decisions and if you were happy with it?  Am I worrying too much about adhesions?  Maybe we should try for a few more cycles before having the surgery?

(Also since I have seen a few other posts in the past asking about how much time off for ttc, the surgeon said that he thought that with either procedure I could start trying to conceive again after three cyles (the one immediately after the procedure and then two more).

Thanks for any thoughts!

QFP. 

Hi @jessk1983. Before we go any further, you should know that there are specific rules that new members are asked to follow in order to comply and fit in with the board culture. For one, you should introduce yourself in the weekly newbie thread so we know who you are and a little about you. If every new member started their own thread the board would be cluttered with one-off posts like this. 

We welcome new members but ask that you please respect the rules as they have served us very well thus far. 

I hope you find the answers that you need and stick around to participate in the dailies with everyone else. 

holly321

Tw

C sections suck, so don't do the one that would probably make you need one.

jrm_14

@jessk1983 I can tell you are sincerely wanting support. As someone else said, please intro on the Newbie thread this week, stick around, & hop into other threads. You will find a community willing to support you, as you support them. 

A while back, someone suggested writing out reasons why you choose how to proceed. That way, when you look back and wonder if you’re making the right choice, you have that list of reasons to look back upon & remind yourself why you made that decision. 

Best of luck. 

hestia-is-wearie

jessk1983 said:

Hello ladies,

I am 34 and my husband and I have been trying to conceive for about 9 months without success.  We had a fertility work up done and the only finding was that I have a medium/large fibroid that the doctor thinks might be seriously impacting my ability to conceive.  I'm thinking over various options about where to go from here and was wondering if others had had similar experiences?

For a few details: I have a 4.6 centimeter submucosal fibroid that is extending about 50% into the cavity.  It has caused me to have very heavy bleeding with my periods, but not a lot of pain.  I met with the surgeon yesterday and he said that he thinks he can try to remove it transvaginally with hysteroscope, but he thought there were 50/50 odds that he'd need to do the procedure twice to completely remove it (probably do the first round at the end of this month and then the second in another month or month and a half).  He said if I wanted to definitely have it done with in one shot, I could go for a laparoscopic myomectomy procedure, but that has a longer recovery period (he said about two weeks).

The shorter recovery time for the hysteroscopic procedure is definitely attractive (even if I have to do it twice), but I worry about the risk of adhesions forming inside my uterine cavity and making my fertility situation even worse than with the fibroid itself.  I'm leaning toward doing the laparoscopy since it doesn't actually cut inside the uterus and thus can't form adhesions (although he said that I would probably need a c-section if I go the laparoscopic route), but I want to talk to him about adhesions again before I go ahead with it.

In the mean time, I was wondering if there were others who had had a choice between procedures and how you made that decisions and if you were happy with it?  Am I worrying too much about adhesions?  Maybe we should try for a few more cycles before having the surgery?

(Also since I have seen a few other posts in the past asking about how much time off for ttc, the surgeon said that he thought that with either procedure I could start trying to conceive again after three cyles (the one immediately after the procedure and then two more).

Thanks for any thoughts!

I discovered I had two submucousal fibroid about three years ago. The larger one was about the same size as yours: maybe a little smaller. My doctor told me that the best way to remove them without potentially reducing my fertility was to go for a laparoscopic myomectomy, although I would most likely need a C-section if I ever decided to have children. I had it done and I was out of work for two weeks. I haven't had a C-section yet, but I have heard a myomectomy recovery is way worse: by the end of my first week, I still could barely take a walk in the park. 

I've since switched from this doctor for reasons other than the myomectomy. I really wish I could have gotten a second opinion. When I learned I had fibroids like my mom did, I panicked and went for the most complete option. **TW loss:

Before my mom was pregnant with me, she lost a pregnancy at 13 weeks due to a very large fibroid. She had to get a myomectomy and wait six months to TTC again. Fortunately, her fertility didn't suffer: I was the rainbow baby that came along right away. Still, when I heard the word "fibroid," plural, I immediately told myself I had to get them removed the quickest way possible. Yes, a miscarriage can happen for any reason, but I didn't want it to be for a reason I knew about and could have prevented.

I'm not saying my doctor was wrong, but it sounds like yours is willing to explore different options with you. There's no harm done in going to a second or even third physician if you're still not sure what the best route is. My new OB has warned me that a fetus could adhere to one of my scars and that I run the risk of uterine rupture in the late stages of pregnancy, but my mom carried me and my sister just with no problems and made it to 40 weeks with both of us. 

Long story short, I've been through a myomectomy and yes, the recovery was tough, but I did what I felt was necessary to ensure I would be able to have a healthy pregnancy. Good luck to you!