Myomectomy in the UK or the US?

The following question was sent to me by viewer struggling with the decision of having a myomectomy abroad or in the U.S. You can read her post in its entirety here.

Dear CandidAnn:
My dilemma: Where to have the surgery?

A. The U.K., where the surgery will be close to free but I live alone, have no family there, the environment is not great, I don't really trust the medical system there, plus I am still waiting for the appointment to see the Consulting Gynecologist (specialist) for the first process.

B. The U.S., where I can have the surgery as soon as I can meet with a surgeon and schedule the surgery, I have no insurance in the U.S. so I have to pay for the whole surgery, my family reside in the U.S. so I can stay with them, the environment is more hospitable for recovery.

I know I want to have the surgery as I do want to have a child and have my stomach/shape back.

I don't know what you can offer as advice but anything will be a help as I want to have the surgery within a year from now while I have my senses about me and motivation to do something about this.

Thank you in advance for reading this post.

Dear Reader:
Thank you for trusting me to share such a personal issue. I wish I could say with 100% surety that I know what you should do, but I would be lying. I don't know anything about the medical profession in the U.K. I have however, seen these videos from a U.K. woman that had an abdominal myomectomy. She was very happy with the hospital, the doctor and the staff. The hospital was Parkside Hospital in Wimbledon and her surgeon's name was Isaac Manyonda. Perhaps you can check him out.

If I were in your shoes, I would lean towards having the surgery in the U.K. since it's a lot less expensive and arrange to have a family member fly over to take care of you while you are recovering. A round trip plane fare between the U.S. and the U.K. is a lot less expensive than paying for surgery out of pocket in the U.S. When discussing our health, I know that money seems like a harsh reality to think about but none-the-less, it's a reality we all have to face. I know quite a few people that had to file for bankruptcy because of medical bills. I'm hoping that with proper planning, you will be able to get the best of both worlds.

Having someone around to take care of you is very helpful because your body needs time to heal, therefore, you will need to take it easy during that process. The first few days of recovering are painful so it's helpful if you can manage to have a someone look after you. I hope this helps you with your decision but I think you should also check out HysterSisters. You'll find other women from the U.K. that might be able to share information with you.

Lastly, because you stated that you really want to have a baby, I couldn't leave without telling you this...

1. From what I have read, you will have to wait 4 - 6 months after your surgery before getting pregnant. Your body might look okay on the outside, but internally, you will be healing months after your surgery.
   
2. If you want to have a baby, PLEASE do not find a boyfriend just to get pregnant. Go to a sperm bank. It might seem like more money now, but it's less problematic in the end.
3. I don't know you, but I feel compelled to let you know that you are not alone. Check out the forum on HysterSisters. There are women from all over the country that are going through similar situations. Type "Abdominal Myomectomy UK" in their Search Box and see what shows up. It's a free site and you don't need to sign up in order to read the posts.

I wish you the best of luck on whatever you decided to do. Take care of yourself