Pathology

As we have discussed previously, it has been exciting to operate with each other. The second major case we did was on a 30 yo female who presented to the gyn clinic with abdominal pain. She was found to have a large pelvic mass which was possibly ovarian or uterine in origin. As we entered her abdomen, we found a large, irregular fibroid uterus. Her uterus was the size of a 30 week pregnancy (measuring 20 x 30 cm). As we worked to remove it, we found her right ureter (the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder) ran directly through the mass. She also had significant adhesions of her bowel and bladder to the mass. This was one of the most difficult hysterectomies that either of us had performed. Thankfully, she survived the surgery and three units of blood later was discharged on POD #4. We are happy as well to learn that her pathology returned as benign. The limited preventative care and healthcare resources here lead to patients presenting later and ultimately more difficult surgeries.