anyone have a repair operation to fix childbirth damage - please help!!!

[mariasmum]

Hi there. I hope someone can give me some advice as i don't know where else to turn. Sorry if this is too detailed but i want to give all the info. incase some more knowledgable person can help!! 7 months ago i gave birth for the 1st time to my beautiful dd. I was induced 10 days after date and had a quite speedy but intense 7 hour labour. I had an epidural and had to push for over 90 mins. The midwife gave me an episiotomy but i also tore badly in several areas including internally and lost huge amounts of blood. She said they were only 2nd degree tears and it took over an hour to stitch me up. By the way, my dp said the midwife seemed very flustered and confused about how to tackle the stitching, blood loss etc., while another midwife kept saying they better get doctor, but then they didn't. Anyway, i've had nothing but problems since and have basically never recovered. Sex is impossible and even standing for more than 5 mins causes pain. the episiotomy healed fine but have lots of pain+ discomfort round the sites of the tears. I've been back to the hospital a few times and they have now said something along lines of: i need surgery to cut out scar tissue and to be restitched. No one has ever explained why this has actually happened. Was it my midewife's fault or my body's for not healing correctly? this will involve a general anaesthetic and i am so frightened i will never be the same again. Please, has this happened anyone else????

Hiya, this happened to a friend of mine. First of all, it can take up to a year for things to settle down so you may not need extra surgery. Have you seen an obstetric surgeon? If not, ask to be referred to one. You may also need an obstetric physiotherapy referral either before or after surgery if you have any continence issues.

Whether or not the midwife did a good job is moot really, you just need to get it sorted out. The reconstructive surgery is not as bad as you expect btw, you will only be asleep for an hour or so and recovery is 1-2 weeks but you will be up and about in a few hours.

However you do need to bear in mind that in some cases where healing is incomplete, a caesarian is recommended for the next delivery.

Hi I had to reply to this. My DS is now 18 months, and I am still on the mend. You aren't alone in taking a long time to heal, and definitely not alone in the lack of bedroom sports! At seven months post delivery I was like you in being unable to stand for long - standing was worse than sitting or walking.

I'd recommend getting everything checked out by a specialist first. It may be that you need more surgery, or it may be that the repair is ok, but the pain (like mine) is caused by something else. If it's the repair, I have heard it recovers so much better and faster than what you have already been through. If it's something else, at least you can be referred for physio/pain relief/ etc as needed.

Get a few opinions if necessary: if their main reason for surgery is to remove scar tissue, you want to know why as sometimes it can help (such as if you have adhesions in the scar) but sometimes this can just result in more new scar tissue and not resolve anything. Do some more research online, and ask as many questions as you can so that you are making as informed a choice as you can. I wish you well, and I hope you are feeling better soon. I know how difficult the recovery can be. Hang in there, it won't last like this forever.

Can't really help but about 10 years ago something very similar happened to my mate's sister. She had to go back to be 're-done' a few months after birth.

All I know is, it turned out fine and she had another two children after that first one.

So try not to get too frightened - it can work out for the best.

I haven't had the operation (a Fenton's procedure?) but I do have a large scar that is taking ages to heal (DD is nearly 11 months). I have posted about scar problems a couple of times here, and have had lots of really nice replies about surgery that has completely sorted out the problem. So much so that I was gutted when I was told that I was not a good candidate for surgery myself!
In terms of the psychological effects, it's also pretty common to be frightened and to question the birth over and over. Bad scarring happens to a lot more people than you'd ever guess. You could know me in "real life" and have no idea that I've had so many problems. I think that we're all too private and embarrassed to discuss it. It sounds as though you haven't read your hospital notes. You can get then and decifer them yourself (which costs money), or the someone in the hospital will go over them with you. It might answer some of your questions. Mind you, I have mine and I'm still having counselling to get over it and the lack of sex. My GP referred me, so that might be something else to think of.
I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience. Hopefully you'll be posting on here in a few months reassuring other women that bad scarring can be corrected.

Thanks so much to everyone who has replied so far. I really appreciate it. It really does help to hear of other womens similar experiences as all my friends seemed to have such straight forward births and i think they think i'm over reacting. MrsTittleMouse, i don't know if its called a fentons procedure. I was just told the repair 'wouldn't hold' and would have to be cut out and redone. I think the doctor talked about doing something else as well. I wish i'd listened better. I think it was called a blair bell procedure? )this could be wrong!!) Anyone heard of that? I must try to get my hospital notes. They didn't give them to me and i've never seen them. Is it common practice for hospitals to give women their notes? Again,Thanks for the all the advice ladies. keep it coming!!

I had to contact the records department of the hospital, they sent me an official release form to sign (it had to be witnessed), and I had to pay the admin costs. They then sent me a full copy of all my notes, which included absolutely everything including all the antenatal stuff. I also sent off for DD's notes, but of course they were much less extensive as they only covered the 1.5 days after DD was born. This should be standard procedure for all hospitals.
For what it's worth, I was quite upset when I read the notes at first, it brought it all back in sharp relief, including some things that I'd forgotten. It has helped in the long run though, as I've been able to work through everything, and also I have been seen the nice bits of my notes, like the MW who wrote "excellent maternal effort".

PS I would lay money on the fact that at least one of your friends didn't have a straightforward birth. It's only since I delivered myself that I heard that one of my friends had an instrumental delivery with a third degree tear (and a big gap until the next child) and another had an infection in her scar. And these are people who DON'T know what I've been through, I bet there are more that would admit it if I told them that I'd gone through it too.

Just wondering does anyone know if the surgery wil definitely be able to fix things. I can't help worrying it might things worse but then i suppose with the pain+ discomfort i have now, i've nothing to lose!! Also, how much approx. does it cost to get a copy of my notes.

It depends on how many pages yours run to, photocopying costs were part of the charges that I paid. If I remember correctly, I paid 35 pounds. I think that there might be a cap of 50 pounds. Hopefully someone more knowledgable will step in here!
Your GYN should be able to tell you success rates of the op, risks (such as infection) etc. Can you get another appointment before the op, to go through things properly? You'll have to sign consent for the op, at which point they should tell you the risks, but it would be better to do things in a calm environment if possible.

Hi there, I had my first baby 7 months ago and was told I had a vaginal wall tear which was sutured on my request. Although this has healed ok I now know it went deeper into the muscle and this was not pulled back together properly leaving a gap. It has taken 4 months to see a gynaecologist who basically said he wouldn't do anything incase I have another baby and therefore another tear. I am very upset about this and wonder if there is anyone out there in a similar situation, or who has had a normal delivery after reconstruction?

hi there, i had a son 7 months ago. 2 wks late, induced labour, went badly, but midwife kept forcing me to go ahead with the vaginal birth. i requested a c-section when i could not push my baby out but she said no. to make a long story short, i ended up with a vontouse extraction with episiotomy and a 3rd degree tear.

the doctor did a tidy job of stitching up the episiotomy, but the part where i tore all the way to my anus was all twisted and dimpled looking, and it felt odd all the time when i was on all fours etc.. when i did pelvic floors i could really feel it, it was pretty saggy.

i had problems having sex too, like it hurt at first but i guess it was average once we got going.

i saw a gynaecologist who recommended a repair surgery. she said my perineum would look the same as before i had my baby and the pain i had with sex would go.

i had surgery last tuesday 18th sept.

it devastates me to look as i was expecting her to recut where had obviously been torn and cut, and restitch it nicely. but i dont know what shes done. i have multiple incisions and it looks worse than before actually. i know its only been a week, but i cant logically figure out how the lump on my perineum will go away. it looks like shes pulled out extra flesh or something.

shes now in england (im in New Zealand)
but has seen emailed photos of it, and her nurse phoned me to say she expected it to look that way, and to trust that it would get better. she tried to remind me that this was her area of expertise. now i guess all i can to is wait. everyone said she was the best gynaecologist and very experienced, so heres to hoping she did a good job.

i cant help wondering now if i had surgery too quickly, and am worried about the possibility of my surgery scarring and looking even WORSE.

it also cost 5000$.
its so depressing this whole thing.
i guess im lucky i didnt have a fourth degree tear.

Hi there. been away for a while so only checking this thread now. Red Muppet, i don't think you have been treated very fairly. If your tear is cauisng you pain or discomfort, i think you can insist on it being repaired now. I don't think its acceptable to say that theres no point incase you have another baby! what if you want 2 or 3 more babies, are they going to wait years to fix it. i'd definitely ask for a 2nd opinion. i've realised that sometimes if you make a bit of a fuss in hospitals then they make more of a fuss of you!

Viv24, it sound like you have had a rough time. Your birth experinece and after pain sounds similar to what i'm experiencing now. Its making me nervous about the surgery now. The only thing is that sex is impossible so i might as well give it a go. I don't care how it looks tbh as long as it feels better! I hope you are feeling better soon. let me know how your recovery goes. Maybe you will start to feel a lot better in a few weeks.

Hi, I had surgery with general anaesthetic 6 months after ds was born. I had the internal scar tissue removed and was re-sewn, or whatever the technical jargon is. I went into hospital at 6am, and left at 2pm.

Oh, and I was scared of the anaesthetic. In fact I told the anaesthetist I mustn't die because I couldn't leave ds, and he joked that he'd take extra special care as he didn't want to miss his golf match that afternoon.

By the way, I was a new woman afterwards!

hey mariasmum, when do you have the surgery?

fircone, i was wondering how you look down there now???

i had a tidy stitch job before... now i feel disfigured...

im having a really hard time coping with it and feel like ive mead a mistake. she was meant to recut the whole thing and re-do it, give it a chance to 're-settle' as she put it..

you know for me sex wasnt even THAT BAD, we had to be slow and gentle and some positions were a definate no but i cant understand how having a bigger scar will help me?

im seeing a gyn today.. not the one who did the surgery, shes still on holiday.

hopefully ill get some answers

I'm wondering about surgery too but am scared. The tear still hurts to sit on and forget about you know what! Its been 3 and a half years since I had her as well.

hey needmorecoffe,

do you think its your scar thats causing you pain?

Just wanted to say that I'm sorry to hear what you all have been going through and I hope you will all get better really quickly.

Also, if the same happened to a man that not only had him in constant pain at a very sensitive part of his body but also affected his sex life doctors would act much quicker and show much more understanding (and they prob all have el sections, lol). It's atrocious what women have to go through all in the name of childbirth. (rant over)

Hi Mariasmum (& others)

Do you scar tissue problems?

My first daughter was born almost 6 years ago by virginal birth with a third degree tear. I had surgery to repair the tear straight after birth. I too have had major problems with being sore. We finally saw a doctor six months after she was born and he tried to 'freeze' the scar tissue off which did absolutly nothing. I have discovered since that I have a scar tissue problem called keloid scarring which means that I have a lot of scar tissue. The doctor suggested I see a GEN. I met with him and he suggested cutting out the scar tissue (which was blocking the whole virginal opening) and restitching. I had the surgery approx 9 months after my daugher was born. It is day surgery only and was back home the same day. Apart from recovering from the general anastetic my recovery has been excellent. I have not had any problems since and it feels better than it has ever felt! I have since opted to have c-sections for my next two births (with number three c-section in Feb next year)to avoid any problems again as the doctors could not give me a gurantee that it would not happen again. The c-sections were a piece of cake compared to 'suffering' for nine months with a third degree tear. I hope that this is helpful, if you have any questions let me know!

Thats hopeful mumof4. Its definately the scar - 2nd degree tear. I got keloids on my ears when my ears were peirced to its possible its 'down there' too.
Waiting to see a gyn so hopefully this will get sorted. DH is making pointed comments about lack of you know wat.

Hi everyone. I'm still waiting for my surgery which will hopefully be any day now. After making a bit of a fuss (writing letter to hospital etc., I'm now top of the list for a cancellation. Since i can go any time they have told me I should be taken in next two weeks. I'm so glad to be getting it sorted but so scared in case it makes things worse. I just want to get back to normal and have a normal relationship with my dp.

Viv 24, how are you feeling now? Hope your recovery has improved. RedMuppet, have you thought any more about pushing for another consulation. Hi mumof4nz, he did mention someting about scar tissue but not sure exactly what. i know he talked about cutting out scare tissue, restitching etc. so it sounds like your experience. I'm so glad to hear it went well for you and congratulations on your next arrival!!! Its great to know it didn't put you off!! I would love to have another baby (hopefully another 2-3!!), sooner rather than later but I'm so scared of same thing happening and with lack of any bedroom activity it would be impossible anyway!! Can I ask if they offered you a c-section because of problems or did you have to push a lot to get one. Does anyone know if it would be possible to have a normal vaginal delivery, without lot of tearing etc. after a bad first experience/ repair surgery etc.? I know c-sections are a major op. and hard to recover from but its over 8 months from I had my baby and I'm still not recovered. It seems like a lot of women are the same.

Hi Mariasmum,

To answer your questions. Sorry for the delay but the time difference does make a bit more difficult (ie being on the otherside of the world!). We were advised that a c-section was an option for us to consider when we saw the specialist for the repair operation. Once I was pregnant with the second baby I told my midwife that I wanted a c-section who then referred me onto a specialist. The specialist looked at all the information ie first delivery notes, the initial repair (straigh after birth) and the follow up repair etc and concluded that he wasn't unhappy to give me an c-section. So to answer your question a bit of both! A virginal birth is still an option but one my husband (and me) weren't that keen on as we didn't want a repeat of number one! I would recommend the repair surgery as it makes every one (including the husband) very happy and life returns back to normal ie without pain! As I said in my other post, in my experience with 2 c-sections so far, my recovery (even with a wound infection!) is a 100% better then a natural 3rd tear birth! I'm back to normal ie all normal activities within 6 weeks!

hi needmorecoffee,

Have you seen the Specialist yet? What was his/her opinion? My keliod scarring has been a problem but the surgery did fix it. I'm having some pains in my tummy with baby number 4 but I suppose that isn't too bad at all considering. Baby number 4 will be it for us and one of the reason is the scar tissue (not the only reason though), it gets worse with each c-section and in turn can become a more 'high risk' pregancy.

hi mariasmum

just in answer to your latest question - I had a bad 3rd degree tear and had surgery straight after the birth to correct it

I have had internal scans since and they have confirmed that if I have another baby there should be no reason why I can't have a normal birth
(the only thing they've said is that they will monitor me more closely next time and if it looks like I may tear then they will do an episiotomy immediately)

I'm so sorry you've been through all of this. I am grateful every single day to the doctor who did my surgery as she did a fantastic job and I was healed and totally back to normal within about 2 months. But sadly, stories like yours seem to be more common than mine.

All I can say is, when you have this surgery and everything is done properly you will heal in no time and I'm sure everything will be fine. If you then have more children I'm sure you could have them normally if you wished to. But my doctor said, after what I'd been through with the surgery, if I did insist I wanted a c-section then they would more than likely agree to it.
Just see how you feel once you are healed properly.

For me, the surgery obviously wasn't very nice, but I would go through it again in a shot if it meant I could have a natural birth and no c-section. It just depends how you feel.
Best of luck

Hi - this happened to me. I tore ... 2nd degree, not particularly badly but it was painful and was stitched up obviously! My body essentially over-healed ... was nothing to do with the midwife ... I had too much scar tissue and it was 'granulated'. Not sure what that means but it was painful and would sometimes even protrude and bleed a little.

Anyway, I had a Fenton's op which is pretty much what they're recommending for you ... just done in one day under a general. They lasered a lot of the tissue off and also recut and restitched. Just to add to the post-birth experience, my af arrived the next day . The healing was much quicker than after birth and it is a million times better.

I had DD2 last year and the fact I'd had this problem/operation was on my notes and the midwife was fantastic. She talked me through it step by step and supported my perineum whilst she was born ... it was a very slow and controlled birth (DD1 was nearly 10lbs and I pushed her out from crowning in one big go ... wouldn't recommend it). Consequently I had a very minor tear that healed without stitches. I sometimes feel a little twinge or if not had sex for a while it can be a little tender but not painful.

PS - my consultant told me he'd treated a woman who's body healed so much it pretty much closed up her vagina ... and she'd had no major tear or stitches. Some of us are just a bit over zealous!

I'm onthe waiting list for the gynae but hearing good surgery stories is making me more hopeful that things can be got back to normal.