Anna and her husband's discovery of vaginal pleating

It is important that the whole of this is read not just part of it

Further to earlier discussions this is how I have learnt about vaginal pleating. It is of no surprise to me that you may not have come across it before. There seems to be little known about it or when it is mentioned people evade the discussion.

As you know firstly I was informed my uterus had been taken.

The next day a midwife let it slip that my cervix had also been taken. This is when shock turned to anger. When I asked a doctor why (I have never to this day been graciously permitted to meet the person that authorised my mutilation). I was told 'because' and he moved on to a different topic. I asked again but the question was ignored and he moved on to a different topic. I still have been refused an explanation.

Over the months I started trying to learn what I could. Eventually I read Elizabeth's book. By this point at least 6 months after the operation, no one had examined me or touched me. I would not let them, not after what had been done without consent. I did not trust the hospital. In the mean time a lady that was midwife had been wonderful to me and we had built up a good relationship.

When reading Elizabeth's book I discovered the following ... (page 18)

"The next day when I discovered there were stitches in my vaginal opening, I asked the doctor why they were there. He replied that he had taken advantage of the fact that I was already under anesthesia, so why not, at the same time, cut the length of my vagina and re-sew it tighter. If I was amazed at both my ovaries being gone, this new revelation made me even more incredulous.

I exclaimed, 'You never mentioned this prior to surgery!'

The doctor responded, 'This is the normal thing to do. I just operated on a ninety-year-old woman (Elizabeth was over 40) who had a vaginal prolapse due to her stretched vagina. You wouldn't want that in the future, would you?"

So, he decided to take it upon himself to save me from such an experience. How could he have performed these procedures without my knowledge or consent?"

A couple of weeks or months later I finally either plucked up the courage or was finally able to examine my self. I was in the bath at the time. What I thought I felt, shocked me. I burst into tears and I rang the friend that was a midwife straight from the bath. For me I think I described it that it was not right there was some sort of lines down it. I was SO upset. I don't think I really expected to find anything as nothing had been said to me and on my notes it did not mention anything. It says something like preceded with a TAH normal with no complications. I will look this up at some point.

A short time after this I asked my husband to see what he thought. I wanted to be wrong. Just by looking on the outside you can see the lines and unfortunately he confirmed what I thought.

I think it was into my 2nd year post op that I found the courage to ask the midwife to examine me. I just wanted to know. If I as wrong (which I hoped I was) then great, if not.

Fortunately she agreed. I am the type of person that needs to know what has happened, how and to tie up loose ends. She was apprehensive and so was I. From both our prospective it was probably a relief that I had a fit of the giggles as she started.

She examined me, for obvious reasons she had never felt anything like it. After a little while of me just lying there she said 'can't you feel that?' As I had not, I said 'no'. She did whatever again and she asked 'You can't feel that?' As I still had felt nothing I said 'No' a little puzzled as I had no idea what she was doing.

She said that the lines (seams) were at twenty past eight on the posterior wall. She was quite alarmed that I had no feeling in there at all. She told me she had been pressing down hard into the lines when she asked me if I could feel anything. I had not been sure where they were I know they were not at 12 and 6 or 3 and 9 so I had an answer to that. She had no idea why it would have been done.

I had what I call after pains. This is where from ten minutes to thirty minutes later extreme pain starts. This after examinations or transvaginal scans. It goes on for a long while. Intercourse is completely out of the question.

We both acknowledge that she is a midwife and that she is not a consultant however she has had over ten years experience and it was a starting point. At least I knew that I was NOT imagining it or my husband and I had a little more technical information to go on.

As I say she was very surprised about this. She asked one of the gynecologists that she worked with. We were still saying the vagina cut in two. This is where we found out that it was called vaginal pleating. She said that she had only ever heard of it, NEVER known it done. When my friend said that she had examined me and that is what she found the gynecologists was quite horrified. She said that it was the equivalent of female circumcision and therefore illegal (she may have said in this country). This was not what either of us were expecting.

I have had major problems trying to obtain information on this. One book (The no-hysterectomy option) did mention about after hysterectomy that the vaginal would be shorter and thinner. The thinner part jumped out at me. If nothing is done to it why would it be thinner?

Whenever I have had the have the vaginal scans it is extremely painful. Some ultrasonographers, I think, feel very uncomfortable doing it, as I usually have tears in my eyes due to the pain and sometimes cry. A few months after the op I can understand, not so many years post operative.

The matter was discussed with doctor at the IVF clinic (1). He looked skeptical. He offered to examine me, I did not really want him to do it however I needed answers to questions so I agreed. Just looking at the area he said it was normal. I was very surprised and so was my husband as we both can see the lines from the outside. He completed his examination.

He said that it was normal. I was shocked. I said when I went into the hospital I did not have those lines down my vagina. He said that the vagina is very fragile and sometimes tears. I asked would I not have been told about that or shouldn't that be in my notes. I said in my notes it states that there were no complications. My husband I both feel that he did not want to discuss what he had found as he would not answer questions and he had become quieter than before the examination.

I understand that normally when a cervix taken the top of the vagina is sewn up like a drawstring bag. If the vagina is so fragile (which I have not heard or read about previously) why take the cervix to cause the risk of such a thing?

We also feel that if it had torn it would not be in two straight lines.

I am still trying to find a doctor that has enough experience and would give me honest answers to go over my notes. I have lots and lots of questions and I know this would take a lot of someone's time. Most people that have been though my notes just come back with more questions.

I have asked the hospital on more than one occasion why it was done and so on. I have never had any acknowledgement it has been done or any reply as to why.

I have looked up many times on the internet vaginal pleating and got no where. FINALY remembering that Elizabeth said it was for vaginal prolapse I tried that and found the following ... (the link is in the glossary)

"Colpocleisis - vaginal closure - is another procedure that is rarely done. It closes off the vagina by stitching the front and back walls together, leaving two pencil-width channels on either side. The operation is performed vaginally and can be done using a local anesthetic or epidural.

It is only offered as a treatment option for women who have severe prolapse, are too frail to undergo any other surgical treatment and are absolutely certain they don't ever want to have sexual intercourse again. Once the vagina is sewn up, penetrative sex is no longer possible, and a vault prolapse may still recur - falling through what remains of the vagina."

This was the first amount of technical information that we had found. I passed it to my husband to read. He went white. He went quiet. He now understood why even after all this time the pain from attempted intercourse is too much for me to bare. He now understood that no mater how many times we have tried it has never got any easier.

From the way my anatomy now is, my husband and I can not figure out how it was sewn in that way. We found a rather graphic picture of an abdominal hysterectomy which confuses us even more.

I took another look at the 'no hysterectomy option' and found this (page 130)

"Traditional Surgical interventions - vaginal repairs

A vaginal repair is done to correct a cystocele, rectocle, and vaginal prolapse. During a repair, the surgeon dissects the vaginal tissue, exposes the bladder and urethra, and then folds over the tissue to create new support for the posterior urethrovesical angle. Vaginal repairs may cause more problems than they cure. They may lead to sexual difficulties (such as painful intercourse), particularly if the vagina has been surgically narrowed or shortened. As mentioned earlier, they may also cause or worsen stress incontinence."

We are trying to find out if we can pursue this legally, however as it is such an horrendous thing to do to a person let alone a young person, my solicitor can not find a doctor that will admit that it happens. Until we can find a doctor that will admit it goes on, and is prepared to examine me and if necessary stand up in a court of law and say so.

Yet another cover up ....

My husband now without any comments from myself talks about the mutilation that happens in the medical profession. He also believes that I was taken in and they started the mutilation straight away.

We would be very happy to have genuine information how long a hysterectomy with the theft of a cervix takes, and how, every cut and suture. Also how long the above takes and how every cut and suture. So far however a closed world with an insurmountable slippy brick wall.

(Feb 2004 I had an argument with a nurse that has been at several hysterectomies. I said that they did the hysterectomy, thief of my cervix and the circumcision in 30 minutes. She said that that was not possible. I said that that is what the hospital has told me. They have stated the time that the hysterectomy started and my notes state that after 15 minutes they started the illegal blood transfusion and 30 minutes from the start of the hysterectomy they stopped the general anesthetic. She said it was not possible it takes an hour to do a hysterectomy. Others have said that 30 minutes is too short)

It is wondered if they every tried to 'save' my uterus as a few other inconsistencies have been found in my notes...

UPDATE 2004

After many years of searching we finally found a doctor that was prepared to examine me. He went though all my notes and answered many questions that we have. It was finally time for an excruciatingly painful internal examination.

The results. It is not vaginal pleating it is just the way that the muscle is now. He agreed that any transvaginal scan would be very painful and a local anesthetic should be offered.

I am really intrigued as to how something can change to that degree so now I need to find some book that can explain the design and workings of the vagina.

Initially I thought of removing this section completely, however as it is standard procedure in American and one person that we know of in Australia did have this done, and received a 'pittance' in compensations it has been left in. If there was lots of information on the internet we may have decided differently. I may not be vaginally pleated, however you would NOT want you body like this and you risk it by being hysterectomised.