Question Hi Dawn -
I hoping you can help me with a concern following my recent hysterectomy. I
had an LSH with left ovary removed 5/5/08, due to several years of pelvic
pain. In the past I have been diagnosed with pelvic congestion and interstitial
cystitis. The purpose of the surgery was to try to alleviate some of the pain,
as nothing else as worked. I saw the surgeon for my post-op and he said
everything was great (though I still have a significant amount of pain - but
tests have ruled out infections so I assume that's part of the natural healing
process). To my question - I recently received a notice from my insurance
company regarding the "urethral stent." I knew nothing about this, so I called
my doctor's office and they said that this was done along with the
hysterectomy. I asked if it was just temporary for the surgery, or if it was
still in there. She said it was still there, and that was the end of the story.
Why was a stent put in? Why didn't anyone say anything to me about this?
Does it need to come out at some point? Having been diagnosed with IC, I'm
concerned that this might cause even more problems with my bladder. Any
info you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance -
Answer Dear Sara,
I will speak to you in layman terms and not use medical jargon if you care to speak to this in more specific detail then you'll need to make an appointment with your surgeon and ask them.
There are times when surgeons perform a surgery that they need to protect the areas being worked on with stents. The abdomen has many different organs within it and most have tubes and connecting parts that are very small in size. The kidneys and ureters and urethra are one such system. It is very important that the small tubes be protected so that you can continue to urinate properly. The surgeon was working in this area and protected the system by placing a stent. After surgery sometimes the stents (you have tubes on the left and right sides) are left in place and sometimes they are removed.
Typically, it isn't going to cause you harm to have them left in place. A surgeon would choose to do the best for you in the surgery and wouldn't choose to purposefully try to cause you harm. I hope you are comforted by this and can feel that you were treated in a great way. I understand that you would have liked to know of this in advance but sometimes these types of routine measures aren't discussed with patients and I do not know why.
Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further questions or concerns,
