OOOOOPHORECTOMY

OOOOOOPHORECTOMY
oo-
a combining form meaning “egg,” used in the formation of compound words:

-phore
a combining form meaning “bearer of,” “thing or part bearing” that specified by the initial element:

-ectomy
a combining form meaning “excision” of the part specified by the initial element, used in the formation of compound words:

Oophorectomy (or ovariotomy) is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. In the case of animals, it is also called spaying and is a form of sterilization. Removal of the ovaries in women is the biological equivalent of castration in males, and the term used in the medical literature is orchidectomy for males.

In the case of humans, oophorectomies are most often performed due to diseases such as ovarian cysts or cancer; prophylactially to reduce the chances of developing ovarian cancer or breast cancer; or in conjunction with removal of the uterus.
A hysterectomy (from the Greek word histera, meaning "womb") is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total (removing the body, fundus, and cervix of the uterus; often called "complete") or partial (removal of the uterine body but leaving the cervical stump, also called "supracervical"). In 2005, there were 617,000 hysterectomies performed in the USA. During a hysterectomy, in the last decade, an average of 73% of surgeons removed ovaries and fallopian tubes during the same operation, a procedure known technically as bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and less formally as ovariohysterectomy.
History
The term originates with the Greek medical term, hysterikos. This referred to a medical condition, thought to be particular to women, caused by disturbances of the uterus, hystera in Greek. The term hysteria was coined by Hippocrates, who thought that the cause of hysteria was due to the uterus wandering around the body in search of children.
The same general definition, or under the name female hysteria, came into widespread use in the middle and late 19th century to describe what is today generally considered to be sexual dissatisfaction. Typical "treatment" was massage of the patient's genitalia by the physician and later vibrators or water sprays to cause orgasm. By the early 1900s, the practice and usage of the term had fallen from use until it was again popularized when the writings of Sigmund Freud became known and influential in Britain and the USA in the 1920s. The Freudian psychoanalytic school of psychology uses its own, somewhat controversial, ways to treat hysteria.
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Why have I titled this dispatch this way? Well, to tell the truth I just love the sound of the word. Oophorectomy, doesn’t it just roll off you tongue? It is so euphonious. Much more so than ovariotomy which makes me think of birds in a cage. Or the male form which is orchidectomy. As if castration can be compared with removal of the male orchid.

I must make full disclosure that this blog if receiving a rating from the raters may be something like BLOG Rated G+ with lots of medical terms most relating to the female genitalia and reproductive system. That being said if you are a person who doesn’t ever want to think of me this way, stop reading. If you are a person (not unlike my self) who purposefully doesn’t use words like vagina, or labia or penis, stop reading. If you still get embarrassed by the feminine hygiene aisle at the store, stop reading. If Tampax, Kotex or Poise commercials cause you to leave the room and take a break, stop reading. Also, if you are my great friend (secret code name Chevy Chase) and you cannot buy tampons in the hotel gift shop until 3:00 a.m. in hopes that no one will see you and still you can’t carry them because the bag is clear, baby steps are required.

On Thursday, September 6th I am having a TLH (Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy.) This is much preferred to a total abdominal hysterectomy because the abdominal incision is a long recovery. I will be recovering from 4 little incisions where the scopes go in. My recovery time is probably 1-3 weeks instead of 6-8 weeks for an abdominal hysterectomy. Woo-hoo!

In preparation for my surgery I have the standard no aspirin; ibuprofen or naproxen (thins the blood.) I also have the nothing by mouth after midnight. Additionally I have the real treat of ‘bowel prep”. Even thought Katie Couric and Al Roker did their colonoscopies on TV, which is really admirable, they did not go through the ‘bowel prep’ on the show. They had to be cleaned out for the best views of their colon. I need to be cleaned out so there is no bowel perforation during surgery.

I will share tidbits with you. First off, the day before surgery you can only have clear liquids. Then at Noon you drink this stuff called magnesium citrate (the label says “The Sparkling Laxative” which promises within ½ to 6 hours to leave you with “four hours of pain-free diarrhea.” It is sort of like waiting for the Cable Guy. We will be there between ½ to 6 hours and then it will all be shit.

The only way that the fabulous process can begin is if you can get this horrid syrup down in the first place. Well I did it with a special method of ice, mixing it with water and outing the straw past my taste buds so I couldn’t taste it. I was so looking forward to the second dose of the delicious cherry delight at 6pm. That was when the fun will begin.

I sit here typing away and really I am not anxious about tomorrow. I trust my gynecological surgeon implicitly. It is not that unusual of a procedure. She has done 1,000+ procedures. I will only be in Swedish for a couple of days. I must be he on Sunday for Mila’s 3rd birthday. I will be losing something physical, some parts and pieces I wasn’t really using anyway. I have my girls and was done. Losing all the parts of my body that create estrogen in anyway is going to help my cancer outcome in so many ways. We have had some victories, this should be huge.

I guess I will be losing my “inner balls.” You all know I am a gal with a lot of moxie and hopefully this surgery will not change my ability to utilize my cajones.

Please no visitors at the hospital. I know you all mean well but it is a short stay. In the same way I don’t like people helping me with the stomach flu (am help other people while they throw up) I don’t really like a lot of visitors in the hospital.