Operation Update....

It's nearly two weeks since the operation - although should I say ‘Operation’ - as I didn’t actually have the laparoscopy I was supposed to have. To be honest I am not really sure what happened. I arrived at the hospital at 7.30am as requested and was shown to a bed in the day ward. Although there were 4 beds on the ward, luckily I was the only inhabitant the whole time I was there. Visits by two anesthetists – separately - who asked about family history, fillings etc. Asked about pre-med but was told as had not signed consent form could not have any. Also I was first on the list and having a pre-med would possibly change my place in the queue. Then visited by a female Dr who ran through what would happen and asked me to sign the consent form. She actually said ‘we will be going through your belly button’ to which I replied ‘I don’t have one’. (I had an umbilical hernia as a child). Although I have told everyone I have seen, this was the first time someone actually looked at it. However, she said this would be fine. As she was leaving I was then introduced to someone called Felix who asked me what was happening. As at this stage I knew no different I told him about the miscarriage and why I was advised to have the cyst removed. He didn’t really seem to know or understand much about my predicament and didn’t question or query my reasons (as I saw them) for having the operation. However, I don’t really know who he was.

Following the operation I remember waking in the recovery room and being confused as to the time. I had been told that my operation would only last half an hour and it was nearly two and a half hours later. The first thing I said (other than demanding more pain killers) was ‘Did everything go OK?’ I was told that the Doctor would come and discuss the operation with me. I was aware that I would not be let home unless I eat, drank and went to the toilet so I was drinking water as soon as I returned to the ward. I was actually very thirsty anyway. As soon as I could, I asked the nurse if I could go to the toilet and wanted to go to the one on the ward as opposed to using a commode. I managed to sit up with help but then came over all faint and had to lie back down. I then had what I believe was a panic attack but it may just have been the fact that I felt so faint. While this was happening my anesthetist walked past and my nurse asked him to come in. They checked my blood pressure and found that it was low. As he was leaving my anesthetist asked me how I was and then said in a jovial manner ‘It didn’t go according to plan then?’ The way he told the story was that when my consultant saw my umbilical hernia scar he was surprised at its existence.

I was more than a little upset to find out on the off chance that the operation had not gone according to plan – especially as the anesthetic said it was because of apparent lack of knowledge of my umbilical hernia. At this stage we asked to see the consultant for him to explain exactly what happened. The female Dr came to see us again after about 45minutes of us asking. She explained why they could not do the operation – because of the umbilical hernia. We further requested to see my consultant; although I did not know who he was when he did arrive as this was the first time I had met him; although I have been under him since my first referral in August / September 2007 (8months). I still wonder whether we would actually have seen him had we not demanded to see him following our conversation with the anesthetist.

He explained again why they could not do the hernia and told us that he did know about the hernia – which contradicted what the anesthetist had told us an hour or so prior. We asked with regards to the problems that the cyst could cause with regards to my fertility. He told us that it would have nothing to do with my fertility. He thought that we were having the cyst removed because of its size. We told him about what the previous Dr had said in his absence to which he replied ‘Did we say that?’ He then said that having the cyst removed could actually compromise my fertility, which totally contradicts what his associate had told us in February!!