In part 1 of my blog I detailed the prep involved in planning ahead for a Vestibulectomy. Now part 2 is dedicated to the surgery itself and what all that entails.
In my previous blog I explained what a Vestibulectomy is, why you would get one, and what items you should buy to have around post surgery. Since we're all clear on that, let me take some time to explain what to expect in terms of the actual hospital experience. It's important to note that this is typically an outpatient procedure that only takes about an hour and then you go home, but it wasn't that way for me. My gynecologist insisted on keeping me overnight for observation due to my anxiety, which made my cost go way up and negatively affected my back and stomach in the process, but I understood her reasoning.
Like before any procedure where they put you to sleep, you must fast before this surgery, so plan it as early in the day as you can. Mine was around lunch time, but got pushed back and then of course took twice as long since I got a full instead of a partial, so I woke up hangry. I will never forget how much my stomach hurt because I was so hungry and it had only been a few months since my Gastroparesis and Hiatal Hernia diagnoses. They wheeled me to my room and I just waited and waited for them to bring me a menu to order lunch and I literally cried because my stomach was in so much pain, but I'll have you all know I couldn't feel a thing below the belt. Medication wise they will give you multiple pain meds, including an anti-inflammatory (NSAID) so you will basically be numb. You'll take another dose every 6 hours or so when you feel it wearing off for the next 2 weeks. I honestly never felt pain during my healing except for when I had my first bowel movement. More on that in part 3.
When you first arrive they will take you into a room where they go over the process with you and you can ask questions alongside whomever has driven you. I had both of my parents with me, which was unusual (divorced) but nice. It really helped me stay at ease just having people there to distract me. There's no point worrying about the surgery because it's not invasive enough for people to bleed out and die from a mishap. Since they literally just cut around the Hart's line and sew you right up, there is very little bleeding.
Once it's time for you to go under the knife, so to speak, they will have you change into a gown and wheel you into the actual room. Of course they told me not to look around at all of the tools there, so that's exactly what I did (I don't advise this). My heart started racing and then I looked down and saw all of these young girls at the foot of the table, younger than myself (I was 30). The doctor saw the look on my face and said "Everyone that's here needs to be. These are interns learning how to perform the surgery." The anesthesiologist decided to start singing songs to distract me, which did not help my nerves one bit, and then my doctor did the Q-tip test. She was poking around my vulva to see my reaction to each strike and suddenly she touched some spot high up, near my clit, and my eyes just rolled back into my head because the pain was so excruciating. "Put her under!" she demanded of the anesthesiologist, so he did, as I was crying and pointing at my arm because the blood pressure monitor was squeezing so tight that I couldn't feel my arm and I was worried about what would happen to it while I was asleep.
If you do end up staying at the hospital overnight like I did a nurse will come in to check on your frequently, checking your temperature and your blood pressure. They'll also feed you 3 meals a day for as long as you are there. I'm in the states so I'm basing this off of our general practices here, but I imagine it is similar in other first world countries. For me, it was really tough lying down in a hospital bed for hours like that, especially after eating! I got severe reflux and they wouldn't let me bring in any of my own medicine, because they wanted to charge me extra for everything, so I had 6 different meds, including anti-anxiety pills, nausea meds, and a stool softener. I pretty much felt nothing and some of the only things I can remember about the hospital stay is laughing on the phone with my new boyfriend and going to the bathroom and realizing that one of those interns had specifically been there to shave me.
All in all, the surgery itself was much easier than I had expected. I read a few other personal accounts before going in myself and did as much research all around as I could muster, yet nothing can truly prepare you for how your own experience will go. The main take away I want people to grasp is that there's nothing to be afraid of. You are asleep when the hard part happens and you be aware of any of it, so there's nothing to haunt you later down the line. Bring a book, your phone, and make sure you've scheduled to be out of work for 2 weeks recovery time, because even if you are walking around alright you will be SO tired and want to nap every afternoon.