Hi I will be having laparoscopic preventative surgery done privately in either September or October this year due to having a BRCA2 mutated gene and my sister was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer 3 years ago and is currently in remission. Has anyone else had this surgery and had it done privately. If so how much did it cost exactly and what was the recovery like. How long were you off work? Thanks.
Hi Nature Lover
I had a laparoscopic hysterectomy with womb, fallopian tubes, ovaries and cervix removed but mine was due to cancer.
Mine was on the NHS and I am not sure about how you would go about arranging it privately but a quick online search did bring up some private hospitals that offered it. The are some that include the pricing and also have phone numbers you can call to get more info.
The surgery for me was straightforward and I had cancer. So I would imagine that as yours is going to be for preventative purposes and if you are otherwise healthy yours should also be fairly straightforward.
I had an appointment with a consultant oncologist surgeon after my diagnosis and he talked me through what would happen. I also had all the routine medical tests that happen before any surgery- so bloods, blood pressure, ECG, BMI, covid test etc etc.
I went into hospital on the day of surgery and had an epidural plus a general anaesthetic. From leaving the ward to waking up in recovery was around 5 hours.
I had little pain. I was encouraged to get up after the first couple of hours and walk around my room. Catheter came out in the early hours of the morning. By 5 am I was up and dressed, washed, walking around and feeling tired but ok. I went home after seeing the surgeon in the morning. Before doing so I had a bladder scan to make sure all was working ok.
I had 30 days of anti coagulant injections into my tummy that I had to do myself. Out of the whole experience it was those that were the hardest. No baths for 6 weeks but showering was ok.
I was able to go for a short walk the day after surgery and did this regularly. It was a case of keeping active but not over doing things, no lifting but also resting to give my body a chance to recover. If I had not had cancer and if I had not had to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy- then I would have felt ok to think about work 6-8 weeks after surgery. However my job was quite active.
My surgery and recovery I feel was very routine and I had no issues from it.
A hysterectomy is normally the first line treatment for womb cancer and it may be an idea to have a look on that forum as ladies will be having the same surgery- although for different reasons.
Womb cancer forum | Macmillan Online Community
Jane
No problem.
I hope that you are able to arrange your surgery soon and that it all goes well.
Although it is a big thing to us to have the surgery- for the consultants it is a routine surgery that they do several times a day.
Jane
