Before consenting to a hysterectomy I think that you need to get a very clear story of how the doctor thinks that this will help things and the risks that it will make things worse.
The way I understand PCOS is that this is a disease of the ovaries. And the ovaries are controlled by hormones that are secreted by your pituitary, which is part of your brain. So my first question would be how the doc expects to make PCOS better by surgery on your uterus?
If the cysts on your ovaries are bursting, then that certainly would explain your adhesions. Are you having symptoms from your adhesions? Approximately 1/3 of the people in the US have adhesions, and for the vast vast majority they have no symptoms at all. If the adhesions are not causing you any problems then it is almost always the best thing to leave them alone. Virtually anything that any surgeon can do will end up making them worse in the end. Now for most people, for whom adhesions cause no problems, having a few more isn't a big deal, but on the other hand you are taking the risk that you will get symptoms like pain or bowel obstruction from the new adhesions that you wouldn't have gotten if you had just left everything alone.
So in order to take the risk of more surgery and more adhesions, you need a very very clear story out of your doctor and the doctor that you get a 2nd opinion from as to how the removal of your uterus will help YOUR body given the disease that YOU have. Several people who post on this board have had unnecessary hysterectomies just because their doctors couldn't think of anything that would help them, and when you are a gynecologist (a surgical specialty) if all else fails you do a hysterectomy! Not because they think it will do any good but because it is something they know how to do. (There is an old saying, "When the only tool you own is a hammer, all problems look like nails to you.")
Also, always go to http://www.google.com and do searches and check out the things that doctors tell you. If stuff does not add up, then either you are not understanding the doctors' explanations correctly, or the doctor doesn't know what she/he is talking about. Either way you need to do some more close questioning of the doctor before you can even begin to give informed consent for anything. There are several things that doctors say that are just wrong and they really clue you in as far as their level of knowledge on the subject. For example, if the doctor doesn't seem to realize that the surgery that you have to diagnose adhesions or to cut adhesions (called an adhesiolysis) will cause more adhesions. Or a doctor who doesn't realize that when adhesions are cut then they grow back together and also form new adhesions because the only way you can cut adhesions is by doing surgery and surgery causes adhesions. Also any surgeon who believes that adhesions don't cause pain sure ain't gonna be allowed to operate on MY belly! The first step for a doctor to take measures to minimize adhesion formation in surgery is for the surgeon to think that it is important.
Good luck! I'm kind of hoping that somebody else here might have more information about PCOS and adhesions.
At Thu, 16 Jan 2003, Teena wrote:
>
>Hello My name is Teena. I've been married for 7 years to my Dh. I am
>29 years old. I live in Michigan. I have 2 children Dd who is 9 and Ds
>who is 3 1/2.
>I was recently diagnosed with PCOS. My GYN just did a Laparoscopy on me
>Tuesday Jan. 14, 2003. He spoke with my Mom after the surgery and told
>her that he found adhesions and lesions, and that I would probably need
>a hysterectomy to take the uterus out.
>I posted on a site that I frequented about this, and one of the
>wonderful gals there gave me the link to this site. I am glad I have
>found it. I have lots of questions!! I am very scared and nervous about
>having the hysterectomy but if that is what will make everything better,
>than I am all for it.
>When I started reading on this site it scared me even more! The only
>other surgery I had was a tubal ligation the day after my son was born.
>Could anyone please direct me to the things I need to read?! I had no
>idea the adhesions were bad! I thought by taking the uterus out it would
>make everything okay.
>If anyone is interested in emailing me, my email is tena2u@yahoo.com.
-- cathy :-)