Bartholins gland/cyst removal?

How are you doing at this point in time after the surgery? Thanks!

Yes there will be a lot of Bruising but you should not have blood in your urine that sounds not right at all . If well enough you should show up at dr. That's horrible your dr. Won't return your call . Removing the gland is not a good idea . I did it - it creates more problems the area wil be empty and in the future full with fluid again due to empty space in body-with nothing to do but another surgery . Cysts can be drained by ' marsupialization is better .

Hi I jut recently had my second marsupilation surgery. The first time It was my right side that was giving me hell and I was blessed to go through the surgery with some bruising which is very common with these procedures and no complications at all. I was able to resume a healthy sex life within 18 days of the surgery. This time around has been harder and the bartholin gland caused more complications than I would have ever imagine possible. I suffered with the left side rising and bursting for over a year now and You all know the relief it gives when it bursts. In January 2013 I had a bartholin cysts the size of a golf ball maybe even a little bigger and it eventually bursted with one of the funkiest smell I ever smelled in my life. My husband, being the God send that he is sqwuzed it until it felt like it was fully drained. the next day I had the chills and excruciating pains in my back. I was in so much pain until I had him to take me to the E.R. When I got there I had a fever of 102 so they immediately took me to the back. After test came back it showed that I had a sever Kidney infection which was caused by the fluid that drained from the cysts.  I could not have the surgery then because my doctor had informed me that because the cysts was drained it was hard to locate it and told me to call her office as soon as it begins to become inflamed again. In Sept. the began to become swollen and I immediately contacted my doctor. I saw her that day which was a Wednesday and she scheduled me for surgerery that next thursday.  Over the next few days the cyst began to get bigger and bigger to the point that I was unable to walk by Sunday it was the size of an apple and I could not bear any more. So I contacted my doctor and she immediately sent me to the hospital to meet with the anesthia team and scheduled the surgery for the next day. That night the cyst began throbbing and I knew it was going to burst it also stopped me from being able to urinate. and this is when I really became scared. I told my husband that if i was not able to urinate within a couple of hours to take me to the E.R. witin a hours time I awoke from a nap and I asked my husband if he passed gas. Having the urge to urinate I stood up and the fluid began comming down my leg. The cysts did not fully drain and I was able to have the surgery the next day. I am currently in my 19thday after the procedure and my stitches have not even begun to dissolve, I just saw the doctor and she informed me that I have four incisions and abot 38 stitches some on the inside of the vagina and some on the outside. I actually got a mirror and saw the ones on the outside they look thick like wire and are very uncomfortable and burn like hell. But I must say that I was so glad to get the procedure done because the benefit of getting this procedure far outweighs being content with the cysts rupturing and coming back. I pray that I never have to go through this ever again and to anyone suffering from this problem get it taken care of as soon as possible it will save you a lot of pain and agony in the long run. If you are having any complications such as painful or blood in your urine post op. PLEASE GO TO THE E.R. IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!!! Iwish everyone the best in dealing with this and I pray that my story can help somone else.

 

     

I had my surgery on 8/2/13,,, disasterous. It was supposed to be same day surgery, however, when I woke up I knew something was wrong. I was admitted due to pain. The doctor was supposed to remove the gland and the cyst. He said it was like removing concrete. It makes no sense at all. Then redeness spread across my stomach. I was in the hospital for 6 days. When I left the hospital I knew something was wrong. There was another mass or cysts in another location. I went for an MRI and sure enough it was there. I've been out of work 8 weeks, just went back last week, however, I'm in so much pain where the incision was and where the new mass is. I have no idea who to turn to. I explained it as a shark had eaten my vagina. It's horrific. I thought I was doing the right thing, however, now I'm not sure what to do. I have no energy and pain. I was definately better off before the surgery. Oh and btw, the doctors prognosis is, "it will either take time to heal, or it will get worse" and talks about doing another surgery and disfiguring me. That's not gonna happen. So disheartened.

omg Lynda, which hospital was this? they don't sound like professionals

I have had a left side Bartholin's cyst for over 25 years. It has never been infected, so I did not suffer as others who have written here. Over the years, my GYN said to leave it alone if it is not bothering you, which was fine for me. But now, at age 56, it seems to have changed, become a bit larger and feels firm. I can feel it through the outside of my perineal area. Sex has been uncomfortable, even painful, these last few months, dryness being one problem I chalked up to menopause (LMP 7/2012), but now I see the gland is probably more the issue. One thing I didn't know until I started researching on my own, is that there is such thing as cancer of this gland. I read this is "rare", but still a possibility. My doctor confirmed that the gland does seem firmer, about 2 cm, and she was going to remove fluid then and there in her office, but reconsidered just in case there were cancerous cells. My lymph nodes in the area do not seem to be affected, at this point. She is advising complete removal of the gland, a same day surgery, making an incision on the inside of the vaginal wall so there should be no disfigurement of the vulva.
After reading all these posts, I am really scared, but removal at my age is prudent because of the cancer possibility, something no one seems to have mentioned here. If there is someone out there who is my age and menopausal who has had the surgery, please respond. I think that no matter how bad the recovery, it will be better than living with the spectre of cancer or its occurrence, even worse.
Thank you and my heart and prayers go out to all you who have suffered so much.

HI Jeanie, I'm 50, and peri menopausal. I have had 2 barthoLin cysts which were lanced in my gynae's office and a course of antibiotics prescribed. Of course it came back, no pain or anything, but I was running a temperature and felt like death. After seeing mymdoc, she scheduled me for surgery the next day.  I went in at 4 and was back home by 11.30that night. She recommended ice packs, voltaren suppositories, and ibruprofen. The ice packs helped with theswelling, which was a bit scary at first glance.  I was recovering nicely,but picked up an infection from the antibiotics...terrible itching and burning! I then took diflucan 150 mg which helped.Unfortunately though my wound got infected...painful, and uncomfortable, so more antibiotics, and of course another vaginal infection....this is day 29! The swelling has all gone, I can sit down without pain, but it does get uncomfortable, apparently because of our age the stitches take longer to dissolve, and my doc has recommended drinking soya milk as it helps our estrogen levels, and therefore our recovery.   I saw her today and she said to expect 90 days before being back to"100%.  I also find I get very tired, but apparently this is normal too.  I have not felt once unable to cope with pain, that was really minimal.  I'm just hoping that this is the last of it.  

Hi Ali - thank you so much for replying to my post. I am scheduled for surgery on the 18th of November, and praying it will be successful and a quick recovery. I hope you, too are 'out of the woods' soon with your infection and total healing. I will keep in touch with the forum here to let others know how I fare.
Thanks and God bless

I'm 52,,, 3 months since surgery,,, still in pain (and I have a high tolerance for pain).  As I stated above I was in the hospital for 6 days, out of work for 2 months.  I'm not sure I'll ever feel ok and very very discouraged.  I really thought I was in good hands but now at a loss of what to do.  There are many great outcomes, mine was not one of them.  I'm a biker and I don't think I'm ever going to be ok to do it again.  Good luck Jeanie!

Dear Lynda - I am so sorry that you continue to be in pain. I am not a doctor, but from my searching and reading I see that there is a major nerve that feeds that area and also large blood supply. So maybe the nerve is taking longer to heal? Just a guess on my part. Nonetheless, I hope you start to feel better soon and get back on that bike. The worse thing to do is to give up hope, in my opinion. One day at a time...
I will let you know how I make out....2 weeks from today. I feel scared, but I have faith in God and I am praying a lot and asking my friends to pray for me, too.
Jeanie

I just had my bartholin gland removed on October 29th. Recovery hasn't been too bad. Only took pain pills 2 days and have been ok without them since. I'm 30. Had 4 cysts in less than a year, 3 were abscesses. It seems like I can feel my stitches tonight. Feels totally different than it has. Like there's something poking out. Thinking I might have popped my stitches. Not sure what I should do. My Dr isn't back in office til Monday. I'm a lil uncomfortable but have no bleeding or discharge

Hi Jeannie, how did your surgery go? I'm absolutely fine now, no pain, no itching or burning which turned out to be a yeast infection caused by the antibiotics! I would recommend that everyone take a max strength probiotic whilst on the antibiotics, as trust me the last thing you need is an itch! I had never had this before, so had initially thought it was part of the healing process duh! 

I wanted to report back a year post surgery. I had my last surgery on Dec 17th, 2012. It took 6 weeks to fully heal, but I'm a slow healer and my stitches popped open. Life is mostly back to normal. I can no longer pull all nighters with the boyfriend. The area does hurt after a while and sometimes i have to ice it down, but day to day I don't feel pain or dryness that some have complained about. While I did have 8 months worth of complications and spent 3 months in bed from the ordeal, i couldn't imagine having to live with that pain and distraction for years. I'm glad i removed the cyst and the gland and would reccomend that to anyone suffering from BCA.

Jeannie,,, I'm wondering how your surgery went.  I'm now almost 5 months post op and still dealing with alot of pain.  I hope you are well.  Lynda

Hi everyone, I have a bc measuring approx 5cm by 5 cm was seen by my gynae yesterday and he has recommended marsupialisation. I am booked in on 29th Jan. I was wondering what the average time period people take off before going back to work. I am a nurse in a busy A and E / ER and spend most of my time on my feet. Don't want to take loads of time off but unsure of roughly how long I would be able to do my job.
You are all such an inspiration x