I had my cerclage placed on 4/14/2010. I was so nervous for it. We got to the hospital at 2:00pm and got checked in pretty quickly. Went back to the pre-op area and hung out there until surgery, which was supposed to be at 4:00pm. The nurses had the hardest time finding the baby's heart tones with a doppler. They didn't have any good dopplers, probably because there aren't many pregnant women that come in for surgeries. Anyhow, after a couple of tries and a few dopplers, I took a hold of it and finally found the heart. Beautiful.
The doctor was running late and surgery didn't get started until 5:30pm. I got the spinal right before. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The numbing shot stung a bit and the pressure of the spinal needle going in felt very weird. Then my legs started going numb and I couldn't feel my butt. I don't think I ever lost complete feeling in my feet and legs, I could wiggle my toes before and after the procedure, which took all of 15-20 minutes to complete. I talked to the anesthesiologist the whole time which was fun. She put something in my IV to help me relax and to help not feel the pain. It had the same sensation a few beers give me. I was very talkative!
We went to the post-op area where they decided to send me straight up to labor and delivery for an u/s instead of trying to find the heart tones on a doppler again. We got to see the little one wiggling around and there was a very healthy heartbeat. They wanted to keep me in for observation for 4 hours for the spinal to wear off. It actually was wearing off quite a bit by 2-3 hours later, but when I wasn't able to go the bathroom (I really had to go but I couldn't get my muscles to work right or something) they had to cath me to empty my bladder. I guess that happens sometimes after a spinal. They said they would let me go when I could pee on my own. I think I did about an hour or so later.
All in all the surgery was a success. The doctor told Andrew my cervix had already started shortening and opening a little but there was still plenty of cervix to work with and he got a couple of good stitches in. We got to go home and sleep. I was put on bed rest for 4 weeks, the doctor wanted me to follow-up with him the following Monday, and then make an appointment for 16 weeks.
I didn't have any problems with the cerclage following the surgery and the few days until the follow-up. No bleeding and discharge, no real pain. I did occasionally get the sensation that something was "up there." We saw the doctor again the following Tuesday and he did a quick pelvic exam. He tried to view the stitches with a speculum but that hurt tremendously so he had to feel for them. He said the stitches were too high to examine with a speculum without anesthesia. All looked well and he would see us again in 3 weeks. He said I could start increasing my activity if I wanted but to still keep working from home, but if I stayed looking good I would be able to go off bed rest at 16 weeks. That was an exciting feeling. It felt like success.
No comments:
Post a Comment