Your personal physician has confirmed you have uterine fibroids that are not responding to conventional medications and recommends surgery to relieve your symptoms and to remove the fibroids. During your pre-operative consultation, your Glendora General Surgeon will review your medical history and the test results that indicate the size of the fibroids and whether they are inside or outside of your uterus.
Before your surgery, you will be told how to prepare for your surgery; how to prepare your home for your recovery; what type of clothing to bring with you to wear after the surgery; if your myomectomy will be performed as an out-patient procedure or if you will need to remain in the hospital for a day or two after the surgery; how to care for your incisions, if any, while recuperating; when you’ll be able to resume your normal daily activities; and when to schedule a post-operative appointment with the surgeon. The surgeon will give you a prescription to be filled before the operation for any pain medication that you may need following surgery.
Abdominal Myomectomy
This procedure is preferred for large fibroids or a large number of fibroids in the uterine wall. The surgery is performed in a hospital and requires a short 1 to 3 day stay after the operation. The fibroids are removed through an open incision over the pubic bone. You will be given a general anesthetic before the operation so that you will be asleep and not feel any pain. Once the incision is made, your surgeon will remove the fibroids using surgical instruments. At the end of the procedure, every opening in the uterine wall is closed with sutures, and the uterine muscle layers are stitched back together. You will be taken to a recovery area for observation before being moved to your hospital room.
Laparoscopic Myomectomy
This procedure is preferred for smaller and fewer fibroids, and it is less invasive and has a faster recovery time than an abdominal myomectomy. The surgery is performed in a hospital and requires an overnight stay after the operation. You will be given a general anesthetic before the operation so that you will be asleep and not feel any pain. Your surgeon will make 3 to 4 small incisions in your lower abdomen. Your stomach will be filled with a gas that will help the surgeon see the fibroids clearly. A laparoscope, a thin medical instrument with an attached light and a camera, is inserted into one incision. Surgical instruments are inserted into the other incision that lets your surgeon cut the fibroids into pieces that are easily removed. After the fibroids are removed, the surgical instruments and the laparoscope are removed, the gas is released, and the incisions are closed with sutures. You will be taken to a recovery area for observation before being moved to your hospital room.
Hysteroscopic Myomectomy
This procedure is preferred for smaller fibroids that are inside the uterus and does not require any incisions. The operation is performed as an out-patient procedure in either a clinic or the surgeon’s office, and you will be able to go home the same day. You will need to have someone accompany you who will drive you home. Your surgeon will determine whether you will be given a general anesthetic so that you will be asleep during the operation or if you will be given a local anesthetic so that you will be awake but numb during the procedure. You will not feel any pain during the myomectomy. The surgeon will use a think medical scope with an attached light that goes through your vagina into the uterus. A medical liquid is put into your uterus to widen the area enough so that the fibroids are seen clearly. Your surgeon will use a wire loop to remove pieces of your fibroids and the liquid will wash out the fibroid pieces. At the end of the procedure, the instruments are removed. You will remain in the clinic or office for a short period of time for observation before being allowed to leave.
