Pregnancy after robotic Myomectomy Surgery?

[angeloffaith]

Hello
I was hoping that anyone who has had this type of problem could give me some advice as well as inspiration. This is my story. I got pregnant in August of 2010 and was pregnant for 21 weeks before hearing the devastating news that my baby boy passed away. When I first got pregnant they found four fibroids 2 2cm, 1 7cm, 1 5cm. They assured me that they wouldn’t cause a problem but that was not the case. According to my OB they said the babies placenta attached near the fibroid (7cm Fibroid) so the baby was fighting for blood supply and nutrients. Now that this has happened my ob believes that I can start trying again and believes that there is only a 5% to 10% percent chance that this could happen again. Of course I want to be sure before we do anything so I went to a specialist that deals with Reproduction. This specialist believes that it is in my best interest to get the 2 larger fibroids removed before trying to get pregnant again. He believes that the fibroids can be removed with Robotic Laparoscopic Myomectomy Surgery. I am concerned with a few things. I have the normal questions that everyone asks themselves although it is a non invasive surgery what are my chances that things go wrong, is surgery really the best option for me?
I have read some of these threads and I see that a lot of people talk about how hard of a road they have to get pregnant after non robotic Myomectomy Surgery so I am wondering if people have had the same problem after this robotic surgery since it’s less invasive.
Also the specialist doesn’t agree with my ob. He believes that the large Fibroid outgrew its blood supply and started to die. This in turn caused toxins to be released which were deadly for the baby. But if the fibroid out grew its blood supply doesn’t that mean its dyeing off so why would I need to get it removed? I am so scared that if I chose the surgery that something will go wrong and I may not have a chance of ever getting pregnant. But in turn if I don’t get it removed then going threw another loss of my child is too big of a risk. Any advice or success stories of women who have had this robotic surgery and gotten pregnant afterwards would be helpful. Thanks In advance for your feedback…

[neon628]

First, I'm sorry for your loss in August. I can't even imagine.

While I am not yet actively trying to get pregnant, I did just have an abdominal myomectomy (on 02/04/11) to get rid of a single 12.9cm fibroid. My doctor said it would be nearly impossible for me to carry a baby until it was removed. He specializes in infertility and does many myomectomies a year and he doesn't think I will have any problems getting pregnant after the surgery. (However, you do have to wait a few months after surgery to let your uterus heal. My husband and I are choosing to wait about a year.)

That being said, I know there is a chance of scar tissue and other problems. However, I believe getting rid of the fibroid(s) is the best way to go. Hopefully other women who have gotten pregnant or who have other stories will reply to your post as well because, as I said, we will not start trying for approximately a year so I will not know the true outcome of my surgery for a while.

Also, I think one of the most important things to consider when having a myomectomy is the skills of your doctor. Make sure s/he has done many myomectomies and has a good track record, so to speak. I felt very confident going into my surgery because of my doctor's reputation. (I also have a great faith in God that helped as well. )

I wish you luck!

[sfwife71]

Angeloffaith- I am SO sorry for your loss. I truly cannot imagine your pain. I do want to share a bit of my experience with you. I am 43 and have had natural pregnancies and 4 early m/c. I had several submucosal fibroids and elevated fsh 12.8. I think the reason for my multiple losses is an egg quality issue but saw several RE's and noone could absolutely say that my fibroids were not an issue. Two of them were impinging on the uterine cavity. I chose to proceed with a Robotic myomectomy. It was my first surgery and although I was very very nervous about it for all the same reasons you are I felt that I had to do everything possible to maximize my chances before trying again. You do have to wait about 3 months to TTC to let your uterus heal and you have pretty much guarenteed yourself a C-section. We have tried on our own a little bit with no success and although I would have liked to gotten pregnant one more time post surgery with my own eggs to see if it would make a difference have opted to go the donor egg route.
I noticed you are in Florida. I actually had my surgery in Jacksonville , FL by Dr. Sam Brown. He does the robotic surgery quite alot and was great. He removed 5 fibroids (4-5cm) and one 10cm fibroid. I was discharged the same day, and within about a week felt practically like my old self. I recently had a sonohistogram and my uterine cavity looks great.
Good luck with your decision. I for one think robotics is the way to go if you have the right surgeon.

[angeloffaith]

Thank you for the response. What a coincidence the doctor we have decided to go with is Doctor Samuel Brown in Jacksonville Florida. I am feeling a little less anxious about the procedure but it’s around the corner. Honestly the pain as been getting so bad in the last month that I am hopeful that this will help.

[sfwife71]

Good luck with your surgery...when will it be? What made you decide to go with Dr.Brown? You are in good hands.

[felacity]

Angeloffaith- I am SO sorry for your loss. I truly cannot imagine your pain. I do want to share a bit of my experience with you. I am 43 and have had natural pregnancies and 4 early m/c. I had several submucosal fibroids and elevated fsh 12.8. I think the reason for my multiple losses is an egg quality issue but saw several RE's and noone could absolutely say that my fibroids were not an issue. Two of them were impinging on the uterine cavity. I chose to proceed with a Robotic myomectomy. It was my first surgery and although I was very very nervous about it for all the same reasons you are I felt that I had to do everything possible to maximize my chances before trying again. You do have to wait about 3 months to TTC to let your uterus heal and you have pretty much guarenteed yourself a C-section. We have tried on our own a little bit with no success and although I would have liked to gotten pregnant one more time post surgery with my own eggs to see if it would make a difference have opted to go the donor egg route.
I noticed you are in Florida. I actually had my surgery in Jacksonville , FL by Dr. Sam Brown. He does the robotic surgery quite alot and was great. He removed 5 fibroids (4-5cm) and one 10cm fibroid. I was discharged the same day, and within about a week felt practically like my old self. I recently had a sonohistogram and my uterine cavity looks great.
Good luck with your decision. I for one think robotics is the way to go if you have the right surgeon.

[felacity]

HI,
I am new to the blog. I just had 5 fibroids removed robotically 5 weeks ago. I go for my 6 week post op visit next week. I was wondering if you could tell me what to expect during this visit? At my 2 week check up all we did was look at the incisions to make sure they were healing properly. I have no idea what to expect. Thanks.

[kavanesi]

Hi,

Here is my story (long). We lost our first baby (a boy) at 23 weeks. I had a routine appointment and my doctor found out that I was 3 centimeter dilated. I was taken to the hospital and put on bedrest (at that point the doctors could not put an emergency cerclage in because my sack had already prolapsed). I spent a week at the hospital, but at the end there was nothing to be done, my water broke, I went into pre-term labor and our boy was stillborn at 23 weeks. My doctors had two theories why this happened - one that I have an incompetent cervix and the second one, that a fibroid that I had on top of my uterus pushed down my uterus and forced my cervix to open prematurely. My regular doctor did not see that I had an enormous fibroid (!), only at my second level US a different doctor saw it, but by that point there was nothing that could be done. We just hoped for the best and waited. The result - loss of our baby three weeks later. So, needless to say I changed doctors right after that and my new doctor (the same one who saw the fibroid on the US) told us that before we even think about getting pregnant again, we have to take care of the tumor. I had laporoscopic myomectomy in September 2011. My fibroid was huge (15 centimeters and about 2,5 pounds), it was sitting right on top of my uterus, but fortunately it was pedunculated, so they did not have to cut deep into uterine muscle. We were told to wait three months and to start to TTC. I was pregnant two weeks after we started trying. The pregnancy was hard, I had a prophylactic cerclage placed at 12 weeks (at that point doctors were still 50/50 about the reason of the first loss)and was on modified bedrest till 26 weeks, had GD very early in the pregnancy (1st trimester), progesterone shots, ended up with pre-eclampsia at 35 weeks (mild case), so was on bedrest at the hospital and had an induction at 37 weeks. We attempted vaginal delivery, but my son was quite big (8p 11oz), so after 74 hour induction and labor we ended up having our boy via C-section. One thing, throughout my pregnancy I had bi-weekly US to measure my cervical length and my cervix never went shorter than 4 cm. So, my doctors (I had five high risk doctors) concluded that the reason for our loss was indeed the enormous fibroid I had.
So, do not despair, it is possible to get pregnant after myomectomy. Just be patient and hope. You all are in my thoughts and prayers and I am sure you will have you miracle babies soon!

Karina