Trachelectomy

Hi everyone

I'm due to go for a radical trachelectomy after turning down a hysterectomy and just want to know what to expect. I've spoken to lots of women from America on the national cervican cancer coalition but I'd like to hear off women from the UK as I'm sure things are done differently over here.

I'd like to know about recovery times, how you felt afterwards etc and more importantly if u were able to conceive easily afterwards.

I live in north wales but am going to Liverpool to have the procedure as they don't do it anywhere closer.

I look forward to hearing your stories, thanks girls.

Hi donjaytal, 

Sorry to hear you're going through this tough journey.

I had a radical trachelectomy on the 4th Feb so I'm well into my recovery and feeling well. I had my op in London but I'm originally from Liverpool and I'm sure they'll look after you :) 

I've written a few posts on here about how I got on but I felt post op that I wanted to write about my diagnosis and treatment try and educate (scare a bit) women my age into being more aware, and to go for their smears! So I wrote an online blog about it all.

I've written quite honestly and I had a rough couple of days post op- it is a big op. But ultimately it did the job! I'm all clear and it's potentially saved my fertlility (which almost wasn't an option). I'm really thankful I was able to have it.

You're welcome to read my blog and comment or share it along if you'd like to. If there's anything else you think I might be able to help you with please let me know.

http://jenscancerpants.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/november-diagnosis.html

Wishing you all the best

x

Hi Donjaytal

I had a radical abdominal trachelectomy last week and have just been discharged from hospital, so I'm afraid I can't give any assistance with fertility chances from a personal experience, which I suspect is what you're most eager to know about.

Do you know whether you are having the operation vaginally or abdominally? Because of the size and location of my tumour, I had to have the op abdominally. Your consultant will have his/her own views on fertility tailored to your circumstances, but if it helps, my consultant's view was that chances of conceiving are only slightly reduced if you have a vaginal trachelectomy. With abdominal trachelectomy chances of conceiving are vastly reduced although the statistics are too minimal to give any reliable indication. 

If you are inclined to seek them out, there are some studies on trachelectomies that have been written up in medical papers. To be honest though I didn't really find these very useful as the outcomes seemed to vary so much from paper to paper.

In terms of recovery, I spent a week in hospital post-op. I'm not going to sugar coat it, it is a big op and I've been in a lot of pain, but the vast majority of the pain and immobility has come from the abdominal incision (muscles to cut through) rather than the op itself. My nurse also stressed that everyone is different and some people (e.g. me!) feel the pain worse than others. 

I'm home now and getting better every day, the body is an amazing thing!

Hope your treatment goes well, feel free to get in touch.

Best wishes

Lou x

 

Hi there I am currently 4 months post tracelectomy so I can't offer any insight into fertility etc (yet)  for me this was the main deciding factor in my treatment.  I was adamant that if there was a treatment which would allow me to preserve my fertility that was going to be my treatment.  Thankfully I found the right consultant, I count my lucky stars for that.  I had my surgery via keyhole and only required a smallish incision along with the key hole incisions about 3 inches wide along my bikini line (kind looks a lot my friends c-section scar).  

As some of the other girls have said it is a big operation, leave yourself plenty of time to recover.  I am still having pain on a daily basis although on a much lower level than immediately post op.  most days I try to limit pain killers to the evening so I can get comfortable.  In my opinion if it means a family in the future its worth it.  

Get prepared with lots of loose PJ's and baggy trackie bottoms or legging for the month or 6 weeks afterwards for comfort.  

Are you having your pelvic lymph nodes removed?

Hi, i just found this post. I live in north wales to and am facing the trachelectomy in liverpool. So scared as to how long il be in hospital i HATE being 

In hospital, i dread it more than the op! And it will mean being a way from my little girl wich is worrying me. How did you get on? Hope you are well now