Morbidly adherent ovary?? Anyone know what this means?

[gillypotta]

Hello, I had my right ovary & Fallopian tube removed a month ago due to an endometrioma. I have no hospital follow up and they have just written to me and I don't understand the letter..... "Noted to have a morbidly adherent left ovary and left tube attached to the pelvic sidewall and an enlarged right ovary with endometrioma adherent to the right pelvic sidewall"

The right ovary was removed but does this mean my left ovary is normal? I don't like the use of the word morbid! I have tried to google this with no success. Many thanks

[Impatient]

Morbid it means it shows disease - in this case probably covered in endo lesions as that is what thy were looking for , (had it been anything else then the letter would have said so) - certainly covered in adhesions as is the tube which accounts for the word adherent - ie stuck - to the pelvic wall with adhesions. What they don't say is if they unstuck it and cut away the adhesions - and this is something you should ask about. The main issue is that it is saved - which does mean for now, you don't need HRT, but from a fertility angle is certainly could mean great difficulty conceiving naturally from it - so you if that is an issue, it is definitely something you need to know about and what options like IVF would be available to you, should you wish to go down that road.

Both my ovaries where stuck with adhesions one had an endometrioma surrounding it and the lot was whipped out - the other one was cleaned up and detached and left inside me still working as an ovary. Both my tubes were clear - but one was removed along with the ovary on that side.

If your follow up appointment is ages away - it might be a wise idea to write to your surgeon and ask the questions you have asap - while the op is still fresh in their mind. They do a lot of these surgeries and it's all to easy to forget what they did in the op after a few more weeks of other operations.

[gillypotta]

Hi, thanks for the quick reply, very informative. My letter does also say "removal of endometrioma in addition to diathermy to spots of endometriosis over the utero-vesical fold. I have been told that no follow up is necessary but I would like to question exactly what was found. I have had painful periods for years and always suspected endometriosis, I have never been officially told that I have endometriosis!? Am I able to request a follow up? Thanks

[Impatient in reply to gillypotta]

Ahh the utero vesical fold is the front of the uterus - similar but smaller to the POD. Having endo there is threatening the bladder.

Having the top layers removed with diathermy may be quite enough to kill it off if it is shallow endo. However any deeper bits may not have been cooked by the heating element and may remain active and need future excision surgery to cut it out.

So looks like there may have been endo on the bladder too. Hopefully it was only shallow and it is now fried away. Definitely chase up a follow up appointment to discuss the results and what measures you need to now be following to minimise risk of endo returning. Wishing you a speedy recovery, that's quite a bit of work you've had done with a variety of post op pains and niggles to get through. Hope it all goes well and isn't too uncomfy in the weeks to come. I did get dreadful inside itches as the burns healed up - just like having a bad case of sunburn only you can't itch.

[gillypotta in reply to Impatient]

Thank you I will definitely arrange a follow up. The surgery was a month ago and I'm still having numerous niggles so it really helps to think that this is 'normal'! The whole thing has been a huge learning curve and I have had to learn most info from the internet rather than the nhs so thanks again

[ca176]

Hi, yes I would phone to speak to the surgeon's secretary (or clinic) and explain that you have received the letter and you have some questions about the terms used. It is completely within your rights to understand what is going on in your own body and have that explained to you. I would even say that the letter mentions removal of spots of endometriosis, however you've never formally been diagnosed and you would like a follow up to discuss this endometriosis and if there should be a treatment plan drawn up etc. etc. Good luck!