I believe there to be no limits to the determination and skill Dr. Berger possesses - and is passing down to you!
My TL Post-Op report was ambiguous. No one could make heads or tails of what actually happened, how much was taken and from where. My current ob/gyn took pictures for me when we went into remove an ovarian cyst. The cyst wasn't posing any problems... just used it as an excuse to be able to go and look around for me! He is a good doctor - much like Dr. B - he supports my TR journey and is excited to be a part of it. My former ob/gyn had taken things above and beyond the call of duty when he performed my TL. He removed over half my tube and cauterized right up to my uterus wall. My current doctor estimated I had 3 - 5 cm of tube.
I went in without a "good candidate" stamp.
My husband wasn't able to be there the day of my consult - he flew in later that night. I went through it alone. Just Dr. Berger laying in on the line for me. No preliminary Lap procedure was going to answer whether Dr. B could put me back together. It all hinged on whether Dr. B could find and use my interstitial lumen.
The form I signed said neither "tubal anastomosis" nor "tubal implantation." Mine simply read "plastic surgery of the tubes" (in medical terms). Dr. B had made mention as I left the consult that he would have to brief his staff about what was written on my form - he hadn't used it before.
You would think I would remember the term I had to say over and over again that day as each nurse asks if you know why you are there and what you are having done. But each time I said it... I smiled and laughed! He hadn't told me he didn't think anything could be done. And I was something special and unique.
It was an "all or nothing" leap of faith onto his surgical table. But one that was made knowing that if he couldn't do it... nobody else could!
I woke up... groggy and with only one question I wanted answered. Did he pull off the miracle I asked him for the day before? (I had told him to write on my form "Dr. Berger is going to pull off a miracle" instead of "plastic surgery of my tubes.")
I was special... enough so that Dr. Berger told the nurses he wanted to explain things to me. They wouldn't say much more than, "it's okay!" I got upset! Not angry upset... devastated upset. I was crying, the nurses felt horrible. They got my husband and told him what was going on.
So we waited for Dr. Berger.
It WAS okay! He had sliced away at my uterus wall until he found the interstitial lumen. They were open! He sutured what remnants of tubes I had left right to them. No end-to-end connection. No implanting my tube through my uterus wall. (I would not have had enough tube for that!) And... I somehow ended up with everything my current Ob/Gyn said I had left! Left side 3.0 Right side 4.0.
I had the HSG about 4 months after surgery - both were open!
The journey has been emotional! One thing remains constant - the incredible feeling of having met such a caring, talented and dedicated person. To know there are people like him (and now you, too!) still present in today's society is a blessing in and of itself. And the amazing gift he gave me that day... there are not gestures, words or material gifts I could give him that would come close to truly expressing the gratitude and awe in my heart.
You two are amazing men! I hope your lives are happy and fulfilled. You deserve nothing but the best for all you do for women and families!
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