To ask if I can have a good look at my uterus after my hysterectomy?

[LetsFaceTheMusicAndDance]

I mean, it 's mine, right?

And I'm curious.

They'll think I'm weird, won't they

I was shown my (apparently gorgeous) placentas both times in spite of specifically saying beforehand that I really didn't want to see them. First time lovely German mw was foostering it about in a bowl making slop slop noises and I just said "please take it away," weakly. Second time equally lovely Welsh midwife got all excited and was gushing about the fabulous cord. All I could get out was "I will vomit on your head" (I was sitting on the couch, she was on the floor). Bit harsh but dear lord placentas are disgusting.

Oddsocks I'll start one this morning but I'll be out and about in work so I won't be able to get back to it much.

Any post-hysterectomy posters would be very welcome - we need the benefit of your experiences

Bing I dreamed about a metal gizmo on a mantelpiece in a stately home last night. The woman in the corner of the room said it was a heart but she didn't say whose. Weird.

They bury them. Either in the garden or in a special plot (same place they bury placentas - yes, I'm in NZ). There's a special part of the consent form that requests the return of body parts if possible.

Placentas are commonly kept for burial (by most mothers, not just Maori), but all sorts of other body bits go home. One chap took the head of his femur (removed during a hip replacement op) and carved 1/2/3/R into it then screwed it into the gear lever on his tractor. His old hip is still getting him around the farm :) People take their gallstones home in a pot, they take their screws & plates home (clean) - if they want it back and it's possible, they can keep it.

I thought they'd stopped doing hysterectomies in favour of ablation?

Argy Ablation is a good alternative depending on the indication. However some things need to be removed, fibroids being a good example. I suspect from the thread that Freddie needs to come out, hence hysterectomy.

Oh - thanks Tic!

I meant Hic, obv.

I was gutted when they wouldn't let me take home dh's gall bladder and stones

yanbu at all infact its quite common peoole ask to see stuff.

i asked to see my tonsils and would ask to see anything i needed removed tbh.

my friend has metal pins that were in his back, and i had a good look at my placentas which were also huge, i found it quite interesting esp as the amniotic sac was still attached and you could stretch it out and see where baby would have fitted. i did wonder how the fuck it all fitted in me, as i am little and my babies were big.

good luck with your op and hope it all goes smoothly xx

I saw my placenta with DD2 and was at how big it was! I had a student midwife along so she could experience a home birth so the midwife was going through all the checks with her, it was fascinating.
I also had a colposcopy a few years ago, again with students present so the Gyneacologist was basically doing a lesson while she was sorting me out and pointing everything out on the tv screen. I was craning my neck so much to see that she made everyone move round slightly so she could adjust the set to let me have a proper look.
There are many advantages to allowing students to sit in on things like that, I learnt loads

If I was having something out I'd want to look at it!

I asked for a good look at my placenta, despite being under a spinal block for an ELCS and clutching my firstborn to my bosom. I went way overdue and everyone kept talking about placenta failure after term, so I insisted every medic in the room attest to the intact, functional beauty of my placenta.

Bingdweller I asked if I could keep my metalwork (plate with 6 screws and 2 long screws from the other side) but the surgeon said it wasn't allowed.

I did watch him remove it in the reflection of the theatre lights though.

I asked to see my gallbladder before my op it but the surgeon said it would be sent straight to the lab so couldn't but he'd take a picture of it for me.

When he came to see me post op he brought me a printout from the keyhole camera of my gallbladder before he removed it, you could see some of my other inside bits too, was fascinating! He also brought me a pot filled with the gallstones for me to take home! I haven't a clue where that is now though!

I also asked about filming my elective section and they clearly said no, I think it would have been quite fascinating!

I did make the mistake of watching a surgeon cut a large lump out of my ankle as he did it, it made me rather queasy watching him have to really pull the skin from the sides to make it meet up so he could sew it like an old leather handbag. Made me feel quite sick.

YANBU. If ever I have another baby, I want to see my placenta.