Dr. Parker is definitely the answer to prayers. This may turn into a long post so be forewarned. :)
The consult went far better than I ever imagined it could! Dr. Parker had reviewed my MRI and had already given thought to my case. But he wanted to hear all of my history first, before he shared his thoughts. He does not believe that the fibroids are hindering my fertility in any way at all. It's his belief that I can get pregnant and carry a baby just as I am but does believe it's likely I'll need a C-section for delivery. He has emailed me a couple of articles to back up his thoughts. The most recent studies done at Yale say that fibroids do not impact fertility unless they invade the uterine cavity or are right next to the uterine lining. And none of mine are in that position. The closest is a tiny, pea-sized fibroid that is almost 1 cm away from the lining.
So he has given me three options:
1. Do nothing. No harm to fertility but likely a C-section delivery due to that large fibroid on my right.
2. Remove that large one and the second largest one at the top of my uterus laparoscopically. He said he'd do this with his oncologist. The advantage to this is it would be laparoscopic surgery with an easy recovery now that could then hopefully eliminate the need for the major surgery of a C-section.
3. Remove them all, even the tiny 1 cm ones with open abdominal surgery.
After he outlined the three options I realized that most of my questions related to having open abdominal surgery so told him that my list of questions was largely irrelevant. He stated that no questions were irrelevant and he wanted me ask every one of them! So I did. One was "how many of your myomectomies (fibroid removal procedures) have resulted in an unplanned hysterectomy?" His answer was two, in 38 years. He proceeded to describe the circumstances of each. I asked "how many times have you attempted a myomectomy but been unable to remove the intended fibroids?" His answer was one, and it was one of the cases we'd just discussed. I asked how long after surgery before I could have an embryo transfer, he said the standard answer is three months, but that's if I had the open surgery, he'd say two months if I went with the laparoscopic option. And most important...I asked if he was confident that I'd be able to successfully carry a pregnancy if I had surgery with him, and his answer was "I'm confident you can now, but most definitely yes even post-op."
So he wanted to send me some of the articles he'd referenced and some of my MRI images that he had labeled. I'm to read that over, think about everything, share it with Dr. Schoolcraft in CO, then get back to him with a decision.
I commented on his awesome and incredibly helpful website. He relayed that the website was the idea of his 16 year old son, some 15 years ago when Dr. Parker didn't even know what a website is. His son is now a 31 year old law student who still today is his Dad's website designer and producer.
He was very easy to talk to, interested in hearing all I had to say and wanted to be sure I had every little question answered. Right off the cuff I'm leaning toward option #2. I think I'd get the most peace of mind knowing that I did everything possible to have a healthy pregnancy. It'd be an easy recovery now that would quite likely eliminate the need for major surgery (C-section) later while also trying to take care of a newborn alone. Obviously I realize that there could be other indications for a C-section but I'd be removing one large variable in the equation. And so many other people believe that removing the fibroids will at least allow me a more comfortable pregnancy.
So I've received his email with the articles and MRI images. Will read those over tonight, discuss the options with some family and friends, sleep on it, talk with Dr. Schoolcraft on Monday and make a final decision. Any thoughts or comments you may have are also appreciated. Thank you for reading all this way and being here for me!!!
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