To be totally freaked out by a 'Vaginal Cuff'

[Allthefoodandwine]

Hi all,

Booked to have a total, surgical Hysterectomy in October.
(having to delay due to having big toe fusion in September)

Apparently necessary to have it all out, and surgically, due to the discovery of Adenomyosis when I had a Womb Ablation in March.

Surgeon said that as he's taking my Cervix, he will make me a ' Vaginal Cuff'....
Literally sounds horrendous...

Anyone have one of these delightfully named things?
And is it as awful as it sounds?

I have all sorts of images in my head of what my undercarriage will look like after surgery.... and feel like! For me & DH!

Op, it’s just the technical term for where they suture the area at the top of your vagina where your cervix was.

Ah, so no buttons then ?

Phew!

I've got one of those! Don't worry! Yes it sounds horrific but it's actually all pretty straightforward and you won't look or feel any different.

I'm pretty sure they just mean that after they remove the cervix they'll reconstruct and stitch that end of your vagina as part of the surgery. It's basically just creating a neat closure there to replace the cervix, if that makes sense. It sounds awful but neither you or DH will notice a difference.

Honestly, it's fine to ask the surgeon questions like this! They'll be happy to explain any part of the procedure that you're not clear about and you'll get lots of advice from the doctor and from the nurses on what to expect after the operation. Never be scared to ask.

Yes, I've got one. I can touch it (I used to be able to touch my cervix) - it just feels like a little lump. Much smaller than a cervix. You can't feel it internally any more than you are normally conscious of your cervix.

My 'undercarriage' looks no different from before, and I'm several years on from my TAH.

Misses the point... But how can you have a non-surgical hysterectomy?!

Maybe via the vagina rather than cutting you open? I don't know! Can't be any other way though.

You can a Hysterectomy 3 ways - Keyhole, Vaginal or through an abdominal incision.
Which is usually referred to as 'surgical'.

The first 2 are a lot less invasive, and the recovery time tends to be a lot less than 'surgical'

Thank you for the explanation. I had previously considered them all surgical, so good to learn the different terminology.

I thought this was gonna be about a new form of piercing.

I had a surgical hysterectomy including the removal of the cervix. (No more periods OR smear tests, YAY). Since surgery my vagina never felt any different, my labia never looked any different. I've never seen the top internal end of my vagina, either before or after.

My surgeon promised the hysterectomy scar would be so invisible I could wear a bikini. What an artist ;-) It's very fine and lies hidden in the natural lateral crease just above the pubic hair line.