Day 5 Post-op vestibulectomy

I just wanted to update everyone on my progress. I am currently Day 5 post-op (I had my vestibulectomy on 11/9/10). Days 1 and 2 post-op were the easiest and days 3 and 4 the most difficult. I think a lot of the anesthesia and the IV pain meds didn't really wear off until the end of day 2. Anyway, today is the first day (evening, actually earlier today I wasn't) that I've been able to sit at my desk and use my normal computer as opposed to my laptop. I am sitting on a very comfy chair, however. Besides that it has been difficult to walk far. Right now I am in the least amount of pain I have been so far.

My doctor did call me on 11/10 like she said she would- she just called later in the evening. She said she had done the procedure from basically the 2 o'clock position to the the 10 o'clock position. She said she did not want to risk going farther up because it was too close to my urethra. The ice has been a lifesaver but I finally don't need it all the time anymore. Now I have more of an intense itching sensation. It really helps to use the bottle of water to rinse the area with when I urinate. Sitz baths also help.

I had a bowel movement on the morning of Day 4 and it did not hurt (I had been taking colace for about a week) but it did cause some bleeding. The bleeding quickly stopped though. I had been worried about "popping" a suture/stitch but my doctor told me that this was not possible. She said she used a mix of some very deep stitches and then some superficial sutures. The area she cut was about 5mm deep and 1cm wide. I read the path report yesterday and it just stated that there was chronic edema (swelling) and inflammation in the sample.

I am a little bit concerned because one of my labia seems to be bigger than the other, but I'm not in any pain. Things do feel tight down there.

I think it is important to emphasize that everyone heals at their own rate and it is really difficult to predict how one will handle the procedure. I am lucky in that I didn't have any issues with the muscles down there, nor did I have more generalized pain down there. I think (I hope) for me that it was really just this localized pain that this procedure will take care of. My doctor is very hopeful too.

I don't know about going back to work about a week after- I don't think I'd feel comfortable sitting at my desk all day, but I can work from home at my leisure so I am fortunate in that regard.

I will be coming back and giving periodic updates on my progress.