Pre-op appointment - part 2

How long should the surgery take?
It's scheduled to take 1 hour and 15 mins but it should take less time than that.

How will I be sedated?
I can choose between a spinal where I can either be fully awake and numbed from the waste down or slightly drugged through an IV so I don't know what's going on while I'm numb from the waste down. My second option is to have a tube in my throat and be completely under anesthesia. My doctor recommended the spinal since I am young and healthy. I can decide the morning of the surgery when I speak to the anesthesiologist. The vestibule area will be numbed with a local anesthetic regardless.

How do I prepare for surgery?
I can't eat after 11:30pm the night before and I can only drink clear liquids until 4 hours before the surgery. I have to get to the hospital 2 hours before surgery is scheduled.

How long is recovery?
It should take a full 6 weeks before any stimulus should be applied to the area. At that point I will start going to the pelvic floor physical therapist weekly and gently massaging the area to stretch the skin.

What does the recovery process involve?
The first few days will be spent in bed or just walking around the house. After that I should take it easy for about a month with no strenuous exercise. Starting the evening I get home from surgery, I need to do a sitz bath 3x daily for up to a month. This involves soaking the affected area in luke warm water (with no soap) for about 30 minutes and then using a blow dryer with cool air to dry the area.

What is the risk of a recovery setback?
50% of patients break open the stitches which delays the healing process because the area now needs to close and heal on its own. This could push the recovery period back a few weeks. Straining when going to the bathroom or too much exercise can cause this as well.