Carolyn’s Story

On April 28, 2006, I finally received true validation for all the pain I had been enduring for several years. I had a supracervical hysterectomy with my right ovary and fallopian tube removed.

For several years I had been making frequent trips to doctors, trying to find out what was wrong with me. I went to my general practitioner, gynecologists, urologists, gastroenterologists, and finally to an orthopedist. I had an MRI of my pelvis and that is when the findings showed that I may have adenomyosis. From there I went to another gynecologist and then for a second opinion to Dr. Seckin. It was agreed that I needed a hysterectomy. All my aches, pains and urinary infections were real, they weren’t in my head. Through four hours of a LAVH, Dr. Seckin found that my uterus had adhered to my abdominal wall, my uterus had tissue inside (adenomyosis), and my right ovary was twisted around my fallopian tube.

It brings me to tears to think about how much pain I have had to endure throughout these years. I can’t understand why this was so difficult to detect. I saw so many doctors and had so many procedures done, yet no one knew what was really going on inside of me.

Fortunately my story has a silver lining. I found an extremely competent surgeon who was trained to perform minimally invasive surgery. It is truly amazing what can be done with so little cutting. More women need to be aware of laparoscopic supracervical removal of the uterus. I have read several books about hysterectomies and it is “minimally” touched upon. There is a great need for doctors to be trained properly for this miraculous surgery, so that women are able to recover faster and have less abdominal incisions. I would encourage women to look for an OB/GYN who is not only an exceptional doctor, but a competent surgeon. C-sections are so common these days, but obstetricians are not adequately trained for such an invasive surgery.

I think there is a desperate need for more doctors to be trained by Dr. Seckin, and understand the true benefits of a LAVH. I also believe it is just as important for women to be aware that they have a choice of what kind of surgery they need — you just have to find the right doctor.