Pregnancy after Surgery?

[mrsreese]

I had surgery to remove fibroids back in Sept 09. At that time I also stopped my birth control after being on it since 2004. My cycle is 26-29 days now. Me and my partner are super ready to begin our family. However, every month my tests come back negative. We do the deed too often to miss my ovulation (if Im even ovulating) It gets so depressing to not see that positive, and then I go to work and deal with other peoples children. I love children and Im so ready for my own! Could this surgery have decreased my odds? I think one of my tubes have scarred itself closed but I dont know yet. My ovaries were fine, but the doc took about 5 fibroids out. Im only 24 and to think that I cant have children will devastate me!

Someone please tell me youve had a similar experience and were able to conceive.

[Jayney]

http://www.providence.org/Oregon/Health_Resource_Centers/Pregnancy_Center/AskanExpert_Pregnancy_after.htm

Pregnancy after fibroid surgery
The impact of fibroid surgery depends on how many fibroids you have, their size and where they are growing in the uterus. If the fibroids have enlarged the uterus only mildly, we generally would not recommend fibroid surgery before pregnancy – but it depends on the location of the fibroids.

If you do need fibroid surgery, we'd typically ask you to wait six to 12 months afterward before attempting to conceive. This gives the uterus time to heal to the fullest extent possible. That timeframe is based on studies related to uterine healing after Caesarian section and discussions with infertility experts. Few studies have looked at fibroid surgeries and subsequent pregnancy. Besides that, it's hard to pool the data because women's cases vary so much.

We strongly suggest you speak with your surgeon, before and after fibroid surgery, about your wish to become pregnant. Before surgery, ask for a full explanation of the risks related to pregnancy. After surgery, ask what the surgeon found and did (this can differ from what is expected). Ask about the timing of a potential pregnancy and any precautions you should take related to pregnancy or labor.

Very importantly, ask the surgeon to make a note in your record as to whether you can or cannot go through labor. Here's why:

Uterine fibroids can grow singly or in clusters. They can range from as small as an orange seed to bigger than a grapefruit. They are nearly always non-cancerous. And they appear in three basic areas: the outer surface of the uterus; the inner surface of the uterus; within the uterine muscle – or any combination.

Fibroids that penetrate the layers of uterine muscle pose the greatest concern in terms of a future pregnancy, because removing them involves the biggest impact on the uterus.

The problem is not the fibroids, per se, but how much their removal might damage healthy uterine tissue. Depending on the incision and the extent of the fibroids, a patient can be at higher risk of uterine rupture. Muscle that has been cut cannot heal to 100 percent of its pre-surgical strength. Uterine rupture can involve dangerous bleeding, no matter how much time has elapsed before pregnancy. Thus, we sometimes recommend that specific patients deliver only by Caesarian section to avoid having contractions that would stress the scarred uterine muscles during labor.

On the other hand, “pedunculated” fibroids – tumors that hang loose on a stalk, either on the inner or outer surface of the uterus – may not disturb your plans for motherhood one bit. If your surgeon just needs to shave off a couple of these fibroids, you are at no increased risk for a complicated pregnancy or delivery.