Cesarean section delivery is the most common surgery among women in the United States while a hysterectomy is the second most prevalent surgery among U.S. women.
According to the CDC, approximately 600,000 hysterectomies are performed annually in the United States and an estimated 20 million U.S. women have had a hysterectomy. The National Institutes of Health states “hysterectomies are very common and one in three women in the United States has had one by age 60.”
Having any type of surgery is scary but how do you prepare for the hysterectomy? What are the questions you need to ask before your procedure?
An informative website on hysterectomy is one called www.hystersisters.com/ This website offers a plethora of information regarding hysterectomies.
The website recommends the following when you meeting with your doctor before your surgery:
· Prepare a list of questions for your doctor before the visit
· Bring your spouse, friend or relative to your appointment
· Print out your questions
· Bring a notepad to your doctor’s appointment
· Write down the responses
Consider the following surgery and recovery questions, which are recommended by John Hopkins Medicine and Hystersisters.com, if you meet with your doctor:
Surgery questions
· Please explain the type of hysterectomy procedure and why I need this surgery.
· Am I a candidate for minimally invasive surgery?
· How many surgeries related to my diagnosis do you perform each month?
· Exactly what will be removed? Uterus, ovaries, tubes, cervix, appendix?
· How will these organs be removed? Through open abdominal incision? Through the vagina? With the help of a laparoscope?
· Will you perform a bladder tack? (This is a treatment for bladder incontinence)
· What kind of anesthesia will I have?
· Based on my medical conditions what are my specific preparations?
· Do I need to fast for eight hours before the procedure?
Notify your doctor if you are sensitive to or are allergic to any medications, iodine, latex, tape, or anesthetic agents (local and general).
Recovery questions
· How long will I be on bed rest?
· When can I resume normal activities like driving, working out, picking up or carrying items?
· Can I douche and use tampons after the procedure?
· When can I have sex?
· How long will I be off work?
· When is our follow-up visit?
· Will you be conducting a pathology report? If so, when will the results be available?
· Will you be using a tummy binder? Do I need to purchase one?
Arrange for someone to help around the house for a week or two after you are discharged from the hospital.
Sources:
"Hysterectomy." Johns Hopkins Medicine, Based in Baltimore, Maryland. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/gynecology/hysterectomy_procedure_92,P07777
"Pre-Op - Before Hysterectomy - HysterSisters.com." HysterSisters Hysterectomy RSS. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
http://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/view_pre.htm
"Menopause After Your Hysterectomy." MSN Healthy Living. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/women/menopause-after-your-hysterectomy-1
"Hysterectomy Fact Sheet." Womenshealth.gov. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/hysterectomy.cfm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/WomensRH/Hysterectomy.htm
"Hysterectomy: MedlinePlus." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Web. 19 Aug. 2013.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hysterectomy.html
Reviewed August 19, 2013
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith