Hahnemann Hospital

babe2331

Hello ladies!  Long time no post!

I need to have surgery to remove an ovarian cyst that was discovered during my pregnancy in 2012 (it was smaller then and thought to have been corpus ludeum.  Obviously, it is not).  It is also possible my left ovary may have to be removed.  My OB who is with Penn told me upon the results of follow-up ultrasound in July, "the cyst is 7cm.  The whole ovary has to go. Call and put yourself on my surgery list."   Being that I had difficulty getting pregnant in the first place and had to consult with an RE, she then suggested I go back to the RE (also with Penn) to talk about "preserving my fertility." Yikes!  The RE ordered an MRI and some blood work, and after reviewing the results, suggested I consult with an OB at Drexel/Hahnemann who she highly recommended to discuss the procedure and saving as much of the ovary as possible. I consulted with that doctor on Monday.  He also agreed that as much of the ovary should be preserved if possible, and he would try to do that.  However, the surgery would have to be performed at Hahnemann.  And while I thought the doctor is ok, I guess I am just used to my regular OB. I am also not entirely sure I feel comfortable having the procedure done at Hahnemann.

This has all been a tough pill to swallow for me, especially since blood tests of my ovary function seem to indicate my egg quality is dropping and we were told to TTC a #2 if we so choose "sooner rather than later."

I am now debating whether or not to have the procedure done by my regular OB/GYN at Penn instead of having the procedure done at Hahnemann.  Any thoughts concerning Hahnemann would be greatly appreciated.

OnceInLoveWithAmy

I have no experience with Hahnemann, but wishing you luck!

NJ789

I rarely post on here but, I used to work there.  Who is the doctor, I may recognize the name? Good luck!

SJU1982

I have no experience with Hahnemann, but just wanted to say good luck with whatever you decide. 

larrysdarling

babe2331 said:

Hello ladies!  Long time no post!

I need to have surgery to remove an ovarian cyst that was discovered during my pregnancy in 2012 (it was smaller then and thought to have been corpus ludeum.  Obviously, it is not).  It is also possible my left ovary may have to be removed.  My OB who is with Penn told me upon the results of follow-up ultrasound in July, "the cyst is 7cm.  The whole ovary has to go. Call and put yourself on my surgery list."   Being that I had difficulty getting pregnant in the first place and had to consult with an RE, she then suggested I go back to the RE (also with Penn) to talk about "preserving my fertility." Yikes!  The RE ordered an MRI and some blood work, and after reviewing the results, suggested I consult with an OB at Drexel/Hahnemann who she highly recommended to discuss the procedure and saving as much of the ovary as possible. I consulted with that doctor on Monday.  He also agreed that as much of the ovary should be preserved if possible, and he would try to do that.  However, the surgery would have to be performed at Hahnemann.  And while I thought the doctor is ok, I guess I am just used to my regular OB. I am also not entirely sure I feel comfortable having the procedure done at Hahnemann.

This has all been a tough pill to swallow for me, especially since blood tests of my ovary function seem to indicate my egg quality is dropping and we were told to TTC a #2 if we so choose "sooner rather than later."

I am now debating whether or not to have the procedure done by my regular OB/GYN at Penn instead of having the procedure done at Hahnemann.  Any thoughts concerning Hahnemann would be greatly appreciated.

I'm sorry you are having to make this decision. It's esp stressful since you want to try to preserve your already delicate fertility.

I'm a new obstetric nurse and I'll give you my perspective with my limited RN experience. If you want to have a chance at saving the ovary, go to a doctor who is at least giving you a chance to do so. Your doc has already told you she wants to take it out sight unseen. I personally would never go into surgery with a doc who is not on the same page as me, no matter how comfortable I am with her provision of care in other areas. Perhaps it just warrants another conversation with your original doc so you can discuss how realistic it is to preserve the ovary and see if she feels she can do it. Find out how many of these procedures she does and how successful she is at preserving the ovary. Compare that to the volume of the same procedures done by other doctors. Frequency matters!

If you don't like your doc's answers, it doesn't matter how much you like her. It might be time to shop around. You don't have to go to the doc at Hahnemann. You can get other opinions or ask for other referrals. If you want I bet you can even schedule to go see Hahnemann ahead of time to make yourself more comfortable if you choose to go there.

Good luck. I know it's hard to go outside your comfort zone. I will hope the best for you!