testimony1
The following is a very moving testimony which we heard from a patient we treated at our hospital.
After adenomyosis enucleation:
It was four years ago when I first encountered the disease called “adenomyosis”. I was 33 years old then.
I had never had menstrual pain before, but it started coming on gradually after I became 31. One year later, I started having difficulties falling asleep because of severe menstrual pain that was not relieved by OTC pain killers. I was not able to go to work in this condition, of course. I started asking for sick leave, and eventually ended up quitting my job.
I had been taking annual gynecological check-ups. Even after I started realizing my physical problems I had been told “your uterus is slightly larger than normal and your condition could be mistaken for uterine fibroids. But the uterus moves well and there is no problem”. I visited three gynecologists and they all said the same thing.
When I visited a fourth clinic in a university hospital, they finally found my “adenomyosis”. At that time, the doctor said it was “incurable” and there was “no treatment”. When I asked him what I should do, he just answered “you need to become pregnant or remove the whole organ”. It was quite shocking to me.
My husband and I, however, were thinking about having a child at that time, the second year after our marriage. I continued visiting the clinic and became pregnant after four months, but miscarried at week nine. The adenomyosis had become aggravated and my pain prescription was changed from Loxonin to Voltaren. I suffered from sharp pain even before my period, and the duration of the treatment increased. The horrible pain came back as soon as the effect of the drug disappeared, and my husband had to help me a lot.
I tried to become pregnant again for six months but it did not work. Then the doctor said “let’s stop the period for a while”. The size of my uterus was already 12 cm then. For the next six months, I visited the clinic every 4th week to get an injection.
The size of the uterus after hormonal treatment shrank to 6 cm, but returned to its original size within six months. Then a hysterosalpingography revealed that both my fallopian tubes closed. The doctor said it would be difficult to achieve a natural pregnancy, so there was no other way but to try in-vitro fertilization. That was again quite shocking.
I was already 37 years old. Even if we tried IVF, we did not have much time left. Hoping to become pregnant for my husband and his parents as well, I desperately started seeking a clinic specializing in IVF. At the clinic that I finally found, the doctor said “your adenomyosis is very advanced and the possibility of pregnancy is very low because there is not much space left for the egg to be implanted. You need to go through enucleation of adenomyosis first”. Then, he referred me to another clinic.
At the hospital, they told me that I would undergo a laparotomic (open) surgery in which they would need to remove the lesions, while confirming their position manually. They also explained that as they removed the tissues the thickness of the uterus would get thinner. Therefore, even if the uterus was sutured, it may rupture during pregnancy. There was also high risk of spontaneous abortion and preterm delivery. It would be difficult to maintain pregnancy all the way, and even if it proceeded without any problems, I would need to have a Caesarean delivery. Since it was not possible to remove all the lesions, I would have to be operated on again and again until I reached menopause, and so on. I cried while listening to his explanation.
I once thought that if there was no hope I should just remove everything. However, I reconsidered and decided not to give up on the small chance. I even looked though various publications to find a doctor highly experienced in adenomyosis enucleation.
Then I found the homepage of Kasumigaura Medical Center.
When I first visited the center, I became slightly nervous after seeing the size of the facility and wondered, “is it really going to be alright?” According to the explanation I received, the method of the operation was different from the traditional one using a scalpel. High-frequency waves are used to resect the lesions so the uterus does not become thin; only normal uterine muscles are left, and the organ is reconstructed. Therefore, there was no concern about a rupture during pregnancy. In addition, unlike an operation with a scalpel, there are hardly any lesions are left in the organ after the operation. Therefore, there is less (almost no) need for further operations. I felt very excited when I heard these things and grateful that such an excellent method had been invented. I was also impressed by Dr. Nishida’s passion for his research into adenomyosis and his sincere attitude. I strongly felt that I wanted to ask him to operate on me as soon as possible.
The operation was successful. I had heard that patients bleed a lot during the adenomyosis operation and sometimes transfusion is required, but I only lost 400g. The operation lasted about two hours, and the post-operative course was excellent.
After the operation, the size of the uterus returned to normal. It’s been three months now since the operation, and I hardly feel any pain during menstruation. There is no more concern about taking drugs around the time of my period. Moreover, the doctor reopened one of the clotted fallopian tubes. This gave us hope a natural pregnancy without IVF.
If you suffer from the same disease, I want you to have this operation as soon as possible. The operation is nothing compared to the pain and suffering from adenomyosis. I feel truly happy that I had this operation, and would like to thank Dr. Nishida from the bottom of my heart.
I had never had menstrual pain before, but it started coming on gradually after I became 31. One year later, I started having difficulties falling asleep because of severe menstrual pain that was not relieved by OTC pain killers. I was not able to go to work in this condition, of course. I started asking for sick leave, and eventually ended up quitting my job.
I had been taking annual gynecological check-ups. Even after I started realizing my physical problems I had been told “your uterus is slightly larger than normal and your condition could be mistaken for uterine fibroids. But the uterus moves well and there is no problem”. I visited three gynecologists and they all said the same thing.
When I visited a fourth clinic in a university hospital, they finally found my “adenomyosis”. At that time, the doctor said it was “incurable” and there was “no treatment”. When I asked him what I should do, he just answered “you need to become pregnant or remove the whole organ”. It was quite shocking to me.
My husband and I, however, were thinking about having a child at that time, the second year after our marriage. I continued visiting the clinic and became pregnant after four months, but miscarried at week nine. The adenomyosis had become aggravated and my pain prescription was changed from Loxonin to Voltaren. I suffered from sharp pain even before my period, and the duration of the treatment increased. The horrible pain came back as soon as the effect of the drug disappeared, and my husband had to help me a lot.
I tried to become pregnant again for six months but it did not work. Then the doctor said “let’s stop the period for a while”. The size of my uterus was already 12 cm then. For the next six months, I visited the clinic every 4th week to get an injection.
The size of the uterus after hormonal treatment shrank to 6 cm, but returned to its original size within six months. Then a hysterosalpingography revealed that both my fallopian tubes closed. The doctor said it would be difficult to achieve a natural pregnancy, so there was no other way but to try in-vitro fertilization. That was again quite shocking.
I was already 37 years old. Even if we tried IVF, we did not have much time left. Hoping to become pregnant for my husband and his parents as well, I desperately started seeking a clinic specializing in IVF. At the clinic that I finally found, the doctor said “your adenomyosis is very advanced and the possibility of pregnancy is very low because there is not much space left for the egg to be implanted. You need to go through enucleation of adenomyosis first”. Then, he referred me to another clinic.
At the hospital, they told me that I would undergo a laparotomic (open) surgery in which they would need to remove the lesions, while confirming their position manually. They also explained that as they removed the tissues the thickness of the uterus would get thinner. Therefore, even if the uterus was sutured, it may rupture during pregnancy. There was also high risk of spontaneous abortion and preterm delivery. It would be difficult to maintain pregnancy all the way, and even if it proceeded without any problems, I would need to have a Caesarean delivery. Since it was not possible to remove all the lesions, I would have to be operated on again and again until I reached menopause, and so on. I cried while listening to his explanation.
I once thought that if there was no hope I should just remove everything. However, I reconsidered and decided not to give up on the small chance. I even looked though various publications to find a doctor highly experienced in adenomyosis enucleation.
Then I found the homepage of Kasumigaura Medical Center.
When I first visited the center, I became slightly nervous after seeing the size of the facility and wondered, “is it really going to be alright?” According to the explanation I received, the method of the operation was different from the traditional one using a scalpel. High-frequency waves are used to resect the lesions so the uterus does not become thin; only normal uterine muscles are left, and the organ is reconstructed. Therefore, there was no concern about a rupture during pregnancy. In addition, unlike an operation with a scalpel, there are hardly any lesions are left in the organ after the operation. Therefore, there is less (almost no) need for further operations. I felt very excited when I heard these things and grateful that such an excellent method had been invented. I was also impressed by Dr. Nishida’s passion for his research into adenomyosis and his sincere attitude. I strongly felt that I wanted to ask him to operate on me as soon as possible.
The operation was successful. I had heard that patients bleed a lot during the adenomyosis operation and sometimes transfusion is required, but I only lost 400g. The operation lasted about two hours, and the post-operative course was excellent.
After the operation, the size of the uterus returned to normal. It’s been three months now since the operation, and I hardly feel any pain during menstruation. There is no more concern about taking drugs around the time of my period. Moreover, the doctor reopened one of the clotted fallopian tubes. This gave us hope a natural pregnancy without IVF.
If you suffer from the same disease, I want you to have this operation as soon as possible. The operation is nothing compared to the pain and suffering from adenomyosis. I feel truly happy that I had this operation, and would like to thank Dr. Nishida from the bottom of my heart.