Tuesday, February 22, 2005 

Hi, 

I was diagnosed with a 5-centimeter posterior intrauterine fibroid in 2001.  My symptoms were very heavy bleeding and anemia.  

Because of the location of the fibroid, my physician told me that I would require an abdominal myomectomy.  I was very scared, however I had no choice since I could no longer function normally during my period.  I had to take days off of work, and I would wake up in the morning with blood on the sheets.  It was horrible.  My doctor told me that having the surgery would not affect my ability to have children in the future.  I had the myomectomy in November 2001.  

Once the surgery was complete, the doctor told me that my fibroid was degenerating and that was why I was bleeding so heavily.  The recovery period was hard, and quite painful.  It took about 8 weeks to feel like myself again and a few months before my periods became normal. 

On January 5, 2004, I had a beautiful baby girl via c-section.  My physician recommended c-section because my uterus had been weakened by the myomectomy.  I will require a c-section for any future births.  All went fine with the c-section !!!  It took about 6 weeks to recover, and I was not in as much pain as I had been after the myomectomy.  

My fibroid is gone.  I had a sonogram a few months after I had the baby to confirm.    (Myomectomy FAQs)  Refer to Pregnancy Research.

******

Monday, May 9, 2005 

Thank you so much for writing back to me.

I got a biopsy and I have uterine cancer.  I never would have known to do that without your help.  You probably saved my life.  Hopefully, anyway.  I wish there were more doctors like you.  Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

******

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Hello Dr Hutchins,

I wanted to give you the end of the story concerning the pedunculated fibroid tumor existing in my abdominal cavity.  I had it removed Aug 9 by an OB-GYN here in MN and although my original request was to undergo laparoscopic surgery, he was more comfortable removing it through a 2-inch incision in my navel area.  The tumor weighed 5.5 lbs.  Since I am asymptomatic I decided to leave the other fibroid tumors on my uterus alone.

Many thanks for your help and suggestions, which propelled me to find a suitable doctor.  The others were suggesting cutting my abdomen wide open and after dialogue with you, I pressed to find a doctor with extensive laparoscopic experience.  Although it took 7 months to locate him, I used the only one qualified in my entire health care provider network.