Salpingectomy Photos *Graphic*

The following pictures were taken by two cameras that were inside of me during the entire surgery.  


         This first picture is a shot of my two fallopian tubes and my uterus in the middle.  

    
 Next, they injected contrast (dye) into my cervix and through my fallopian tubes to see if the contrast would spill out through both tubes and into my abdomen.  This would confirm whether or not the tubes were open or not.  I have had this test done twice before, but it is something they like to do during the surgery as well.  The blueish ugly looking thing on your right, is my right fallopian tube, also referred to as the hydrosalpinx.  The tube was completely closed at the end, thus not allowing any of the contrast to exit.  The tube just kept expanding larger and larger as it filled with contrast.

 

This is the final shot from the surgery.  As you can see, the right fallopian tube is now gone.  The left one was repaired and still remains.

 

August 21, 2013: Post-Op Appointment

It had been 19 days since my surgery.  I was nervous for my post-op appointment, but at least the hard part was all over with!  The doctor looked at my incisions, and said that they were healing nicely.  My stitches were slowing dissolving and my incisions were shrinking.  There was only one incision where the stitches were trying to push themselves out of my body.  The doctor said to just let it be and they should eventually fall out or continue to dissolve.  No worries :)  I also told him that I had been in some discomfort on my right side where the tube was removed.  I asked him if was normal or if it could be phantom pain, due to the missing tube  (Yes I am always trying to diagnose myself)....but it was not.  He said that because my tube was burned off of my right ovary, it was most likely my ovary trying to repair itself due to being burned in the process.  My doctor told us that people can get pregnant with a hydrosalpinx tube...but... that mine was so bad, that I would have never have been able to conceive with that "thing" inside of me.  It was such a relief that it was finally gone.  Everything was looking good and we discussed what was next for us now that my surgery was behind us.  Miguel and I chose the route to try naturally now that my tube was  gone.  I really wanted to give my body a chance to get pregnant on its own, and find its way back to normality.  We discussed that if I am not pregnant by November, then I needed to start considering more aggressive treatment.  In the meantime, I would be tracking my ovulation and Progesterone levels on a monthly basis, to ensure consistency, without any medications.  I was going to be doing this with Ovulation Predictor Kits and routine blood work.

There are three things that could cause me to need further treatment: 
1) If I am ovulating properly with high Progesterone, and am still not getting pregnant. 
2) If my progesterone is not consistently above a 12 on a monthly basis.  
3) If I am not ovulating at all.  

Daily Motivation #11

Details On The Procedure

It was going to take about six weeks for me to be back to my normal self.  The doctor ended up doing more work than he had originally anticipated.  There were three incisions made on my abdomen. One incision was in my belly button, another near my right pelvic bone, and the last one around my lower middle abdomen.  They were about the size of a nickel and had been stitched up and bandaged.  The stitches would end up dissolving on their own.  The nurse informed me that the worst of the pain would be caused by the gas they inflated into my abdomen.  When the surgery is complete, they try to remove as much of the gas as possible, but a good amount still remains.  The gas ends up traveling up your back and into your shoulders and neck.  This was pure misery and so painful.  I slept on a heating pad some nights to ease the pain and discomfort.  Every day I looked forward to taking a nice, warm shower to help relax my body.   They gave me Vicodin to take at home for the pain, but once the anesthesia wore off, I never took any of the pain medication.  Not that it didn't hurt, because it did...  I just don't like to take medication of any kind, unless it's absolutely necessary.

The incision that was made in my belly button had a camera inserted into it, as well as a camera that was inserted into me vaginally.  They used the cameras to perform the entire surgery.  First thing first, both of my ovarian cysts were gone!  For this, I was so thankful!  When they went into my abdomen, they flushed my tubes out with dye once again.  This gives them a more distinct idea of what type of condition my tubes are in at the time of surgery.  They also gave me what is called a pelvic block so that my tubes wouldn't start having spasms during the procedure.  There was a tiny polyp that was removed, but they ensured me that it was nothing to be concerned about.  It was so tiny that the lab could barely test it on the slide.  Good news is that my uterus looked normal, as it always did! :)  

My right fallopian tube, which was the hydrosalpinx, was slightly wrapped around and attached to my right ovary.  This is why it was so difficult to see my right ovary in all of the previous ultrasounds.  It was in such bad condition, and they confirmed that it could not be repaired... It had to come out.  The doctor said that I would have never gotten pregnant, as long as this tube was inside of me.  The only way they could remove the tube from the ovary was to burn it off.  This left my right ovary slightly burned which was quite painful during the healing process, as my ovary was trying to heal itself.  My right tube was then completely removed and taken out. 

They thought that my left tube was in pretty good condition, but once they saw it on the cameras inside of me, they discovered otherwise.  My left tube was also damaged, but THANKFULLY it could be saved.  You see.... your fallopian tubes are suppose to move around quite freely in order to catch the egg that is being released during ovulation.  My left tube was not moving.  It was attached to the fat holding up and surrounding my colon, not allowing it to move at all.  They had to cut the tube away from the fat it was attached to, in order for it to move freely once again.  After that, they repaired it as much as they possibly could due to the damage it had endured and the scar tissue it had developed.  After all, this tube was my only hope it I ever wanted to conceive a child naturally.  

Once I was healed, I got the ok to start trying again without any type of medication.  There was a chance that I would not ovulate the first month after surgery.  It had been about 5 months since I had a period, because we were suppressing it in order to get rid of the ovarian cysts.  At this point, we just had to be patient and let my body find it's natural rhythm once again.    

Due to my left tube being previously damaged and repaired during the surgery.... this has now increased my chances of having an ectopic pregnancy.  The moment I find out that I am pregnant,  I immediately have to go in for an emergency ultrasound.  This is to ensure that the pregnancy is occurring inside of my uterus and not in the tube. 

I now have both of my ovaries, and one repaired fallopian tube.  The doctors are now confident that I should be able to conceive now.  This is where my hope lies.

                                    Bloated from the gas inflated into my abdomen

                                                       First look after surgery

                                                     Removing the bandages

                                     One of my incisions a couple days after surgery

 

August 2, 2013: Salpingectomy

The day was finally here.  It was the morning of my surgery.  I couldn't sleep...I had tossed and turned all night.  I knew having surgery was what I needed to do to get one step closer to becoming a mom, but at the same time, I was sad.  I knew this was going to be a positive things, but I would be losing a fallopian tube....a sentimental piece of me, in the process.  I woke up so early that morning.  The sun was barely breaking through the little amount of clouds that were present.  I went outside with Kaia, and just started to think about everything that had led up to this very point in time, and began to cry.  I just couldn't believe that it had all come to this.  My doctor kept telling me that my tube needed to come out, but I had been in such denial...and here I was.  Olivia..(my husband's aunt, who is one of my best friends, and basically a big sister to me).. saw me crying outside in the yard.  She ran up to me and just held me in her arms, telling me that everything would be alright.  She always knows what to say and what to do, to calm me down.  Now that's a gift.  My phone rang and it was my dad returning my call I had previously made to him.  I started to bawl again, telling him I called him because of how scared I was.  I could here the concern in my dad's voice.  He immediately called Miguel, telling him to keep him posted throughout the day, and to make sure they give me something for the anxiety.  

I dried my eyes and went back inside.  The past two evenings I had bathed in a special soap, and now I had to shower again before we headed to the hospital. After my shower, Miguel asked me if I was ok, and I told him that I felt sad and had been crying.  He comforted me and that gave me the strength I needed to keep going.  That day I had such a huge support group at the hospital with me, which included:  Miguel, my mom, my stepdad, and Olivia.  I felt so loved..... After all, I couldn't do it without their support, and the support of others very close to me, who couldn't physically be there.  I knew I needed to do this and I could get through it.  

We got to the hospital, and I was still so nervous.  They called me back to the room to get some paperwork done.  Everything seemed to just happen so fast.  Immediately after my paperwork, they had me change into a gown and socks.  Everyone at the hospital kept telling me that when I do have a baby, it was going to be a boy.  This was because my nails, hospital gown, and socks were all the same color blue!  Before I knew it, they had the iv in my hand.  I laid on the hospital bed alone with my mind racing... waiting for them to allow my family back to visit me, two at a time.  My mom and Miguel were the to first to come back.  They couldn't believe that I was already dressed and ready to go!  Miguel never left my side as the others switched in and out.  As Miguel calmly sat there holding my hand, my mom looked so worried and emotional.  She didn't stay with me for too long, so that Olivia and my stepdad could visit me as well.  

The anesthesiologist came by and said that he was going to go through everything with me that would be involved during the procedure.  I told him "you are exactly the person that I wanted to talk to!" Lol..  I decided to ask about getting an epidural once again, instead of having him put me to sleep.  Of course this was going to be a big fat no for an answer, but I figured it was worth a try.  He told me that the reason why they don't do epidurals for this surgery is because before they start the procedure, they will be inflating my abdomen with gas to lift it.  Therefore, I would not be breathing on my own, and they would have a breathing tube down my throat, breathing for me.  Ummmmm... yea this did not make me feel any better about the situation.  The anesthesiologist was very good with his words and the way he described things to me, to make me feel more secure about going under.  He told me that all of the medications were completely reversible, and that your body naturally reverses them on it's own.  He also told me that waking people up is not the issue, but keeping them asleep.  This made me feel better about being on those drugs.  Dr. Crochet came in and it was officially game time!  We talked very briefly and then it was time to go into the operating room.  So to take the edge off, they gave me a little medication intravenously.  I literally felt like I had at least 5 shots of tequila in me.  My anxiety was gone, and I was ready to go.  I kissed my family and they wheeled me away.

I remember them rolling me into the operating room.  There were so many tools and people everywhere.  The lights were so bright.  I didn't care because my body felt so good.  I didn't have a single worry in the world at that moment in time.  They asked me to shimmy my body off the bed and onto the operating table.  I mumbled,  "There's alot of people and alot of stuff in here".  The bright lights blinded me, and I was out.  

When the surgery was all said and done, the doctor had my family wait in a room to discuss his findings.  He went through each and every picture he took and thoroughly went through his findings and results with them. 

The surgery took approximately 3 hours.  When I woke up in recovery, the nurse was waiting for me.  I didn't feel any pain, but then again, I was still so out of it.  She moved me into a wheelchair and helped me change into my regular clothes before my family could come back to see me.  I kept thinking to myself "What the heck is she doing..."  I remember not being able to see too clearly because I didn't have my glasses.  My family was finally with me again.  I vaguely remember Miguel trying to show me pictures of the surgery and trying to explain them to me, but that is all just a blur.  The nurse told me that I had to try and urinate before the doctor would release me, and if I didn't urinate they would have to give me a catheter to drain my bladder. The up and down, to and from the restroom was making me so nauseous.  I could barely walk, much less urinate.   I definitely didn't want a catheter, so I kept trying to go to the restroom to avoid this, and eventually I urinated.  Thank goodness.

 Now I was on the road to recovery, and was ready to hear the results for myself once the drugs wore off.  I did it... finally!  This was a big step in our journey with infertility.