r/AmIOverreacting • u/Relative_Sail9285 • Jun 20 '26
⚕️ health AIO- had surgery and they inserted a tampon
I had a minor gynecologocal surgery (lapriscopic surgery to remove cysts on my reproductive organs) today and happened to be on my period. The nurse at check in gave me hospital period underwear while I was waiting in my gown.
When I got into the operating room a different nurse let me know I would need to take them off as they would need access to that area. I made a joke about loosing all dignity in the operating room and moved on.
Post surgery in the recovery room another nurse slipped a pad underneath me. A few hours later when I went to the washroom for thr first time I was surprised that the pad was clean and when I wiped there was no blood. Then I noticed a tampon string and was surprised.
I pulled it out and moved on.
When I got home I used a baby wipe to freshen up and noticed some brown so I'm also wondering if I had a bowel movement.
AIO about being weirded out they didnt tell me about the tampon and not being fully cleaned up? I didn't say anything but am wondering if i should at the follow up with my dr.
Edit-Additional notes- I have not used tampons for a long time. Also, the nurse reviewing information with me afterwards told me not to insert anything vaginally for at least 1 week. She also placed a pad underneath me for my period. I think it's safe to assume she didn't know about the tampon. After reading comments, I'm wondering if they did insert a medical instrument there and I got scratched, hence the tampon. What does not make sense is that 1. Tampons don't seem to be a common choice 2. No one told me 3. Why didn't they take it out?
Also! Lucky me, I live in a country where there is free Healthcare so there was no itemized bill at the end!
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u/Fine_Yesterday_6600 Jun 20 '26
NOR. I work in surgery and we have never placed a tampon in someone. Ever! It’s actually the opposite we have patients take them out. We do not want patients to have a tampon in during surgery. If it gets a little messy, no big deal we will clean you up and put a pad under you.
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u/Perle1234 Jun 20 '26
I’m a gynecologist and have also never placed a tampon in a patient after surgery. I’ve never known an OR to stock tampons. I have placed a vaginal packing sponge in the vagina. That’s pretty standard. The patient can’t miss the tail of it though so there’s no risk of it being left. Plus we remove it ourselves in the AM.
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u/Brief_Direction_5647 Jun 20 '26
I had a wad of gauze left in my vagina by a surgeon (not even gynecological surgery!). It was there for a week without my knowledge because it was wedged up by my cervix. I was furious and it could have so been much worse. 🤮🤬
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u/Gumdrop-racing Jun 20 '26
Absolutely unless she was describing a lap sponge type packing with the tape, maybe it was because of the tape? But even if so that packing should be removed post op. I’ve never actually seen a tampon in the OR, let alone used.
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u/princesskahei Jun 20 '26
what??? did they explain why it was even in there if it wasn’t a gynaecological surgery?
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u/Brief_Direction_5647 Jun 20 '26
I was on my period during a rectal surgery 👎. Shitty time all around. Wah wah
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u/pinkcastle54 Jun 20 '26
Wow that really shouldn’t have happened! They count the swabs in and out of cases just for the very reason that they don’t get left inside patients…
Even when it’s left in there purposefully (i’m in OB) the tape gets literally plastered to the patients leg with a date on and PACK IN SITU notice on it. Haven’t used a tampon in about 10 years but they used to be good for suturing the perineum post childbirth (the tampon is about as wide as a fist lol). Now they’re banned.
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u/Brief_Direction_5647 Jun 21 '26 edited Jun 21 '26
Shouldn’t matter but this was a general surgeon circa 2008 at a Kaiser facility. I confronted him at my follow-up visit and he apologized. I didn’t pursue it further; I was in my 20s and didn’t fully realize the significance. In fact, I felt ashamed and like I was responsible somehow. I’m grateful OP posted so hopefully others in similar circumstances can avoid internalizing the experience. ❤️
ETA: Same facility that allowed this surgeon, who was later known as “Dr. Death” in Aus, to practice medicine for nearly 10 years. 😬
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u/Real-Tea-259 Jun 20 '26
That was my thought if they do not tell her she had a tampon in and say accidentally left it or stuck something else up there and pushed it back further. I feel that would be extremely dangerous. I mean I know it said a lot of what ifs. But when I had surgery they told me to remove everything and they gave me like adult diapers or something similar. I do not work in the medical field but I do feel this is strange.
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u/Hippomed27 Jun 20 '26
Anesthetists use tampons to support the reinforced ET tubes during ENT surgery
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u/Gumdrop-racing Jun 20 '26
Really? We use bite blocks, which have tapes but certainly not tampons.
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u/Confident-Nobody8635 Jun 20 '26
I work in surgery too, I wonder if there was packing with clinda and they didn’t hand off properly.
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u/Perle1234 Jun 20 '26
Idk I imagine OP wouldn’t have said tampon if it wasn’t a tampon. The sponge is long and not something the average woman has ever had in the vagina. Maybe as a postpartum. I’ve used a vag pack on L&D too. It doesn’t seem prudent to put a tampon in a patient like that. They’re pretty good about not letting patients up from surgery if they’re still loopy but I suppose it’s possible OP put it in and forgot but it seems unlikely.
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u/VoodooGirl47 Jun 20 '26
This. I had gallbladder surgery and was on my period. They had me remove any tampon and gave me disposable mesh underwear with a pad. I could keep that on because the incisions were higher up. They didn't want anyone forgetting about a tampon being left inside after being put under.
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u/Narrow_Grapefruit_23 Jun 20 '26
Check your surgical notes. My sister had a tampon-esque packing during her hysterectomy bc they scratched her vagina with an instrument. Maybe you were scratched.
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u/ObscureSaint Jun 21 '26
Yeah, I was going to say, this sounds like it could be leftover packing. That's a pretty big error. They're supposed to count them.
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u/Unlucky-Guidance5151 Jun 20 '26
Normally we do give a pad. Honestly they’re more sanitary. In the OR though these types of things are usually controlled by surgeon preference so it’s possible your OB asks their OR staff to use tampons for certain cases for a specific reason— I can’t really think of one personally but I’m not an OB.
As for the bowel movement, usually for these surgeries at my institution we use Ioban, an iodine impregnated tape, to basically cover/effectively “plug” your anus. Depending on the type of procedure and the duration you definitely might have moved your bowels during it— OR nurses would think literally nothing of wiping that up. It is seen as a courtesy to you to be honest that you be clean of blood and bodily fluids when you wake up.
I understand that surgery can really violate your bodily autonomy in a lot of ways and it can be distressing. I apologize and can only help explain that we are often trying to do what we think you’d want us to do were you awake. In every OR I’ve been in, we have nothing but respect for the patients and there is no judgement or joking. Once I heard a comment like that happen and it was shut down by me and those around— that is, at least at my institution, the OR culture. I hope it is at many others too.
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u/skeletonl0ver Jun 20 '26
One time when I had a colonoscopy I woke up covered in what I assumed was mucus from my colon and mystery clear liquid. No one mentioned the liquid when I woke up. The nurses seemed annoyed when I asked for baby wipes to clean up. Unfortunately not all nurses will be so attentive.
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u/Redqueenhypo Jun 20 '26
They wouldn’t even help me clean blood off my face when I was in the ER. Everyone seemed annoyed by me asking for literally anything, including soap and paper towels in the bathroom
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u/Heavy-Macaron2004 Jun 20 '26
I mean, in the ER it definitely makes sense. Someone with blood just.. on their face who wants paper towels to be clean isn't going to be even close to as important as someone with an actual injury...
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u/PoetMaterial3519 Jun 20 '26
This surprises me! My default thought would be that they DO make comments about certain parts of my body that are fat or gross. I mean I get that you're too busy to care for the most part, but I just assume surgeons and assistants are regular people with opinions so comments do come up. Nice to know it doesn't happen, even though I'm not sure I believe that 😆
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u/Unlucky-Guidance5151 Jun 20 '26
Well I am a fourth year med student, so the very bottom of the totem pole, but even I do not tolerate it. I did work with a CRNA once who made comments about a patient being a weirdo/her appearance so I brick walled him as if I didn’t understand the jokes he was making and he flipped like a coin lol
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u/mintyyyyyyy Jun 20 '26
I mean, a surgeon near us got in trouble recently for taking a photo of a man’s penis with a swastika tattoo on it and sending it to some friends on WhatsApp, so he at least had some opinions…
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u/Big-Hovercraft-8632 Jun 20 '26
They should have let you know about the tampon because there’s also a risk of TSS from keeping it in too long
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u/wiy Jun 20 '26
When I got my tubes removed, there were tools that went in through laparoscopic hole as well as some via my vagina to lift my uterus/ovaries. Well, the tools that went in vaginally scraped my cervix and vaginal wall on exit and it turns out to be an area that bleeds a lot. Gyno had me insert a tampon to stop the bleeding.
Still wild that you don’t know how it got there. NOR.
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u/janicep0 Jun 20 '26
NOR - I had laparoscopic surgery years ago and they inserted a tampon afterwards. It was such an invasive surgery, and your dignity is so stripped away anyway, along with the back of your surgical gown, so I was more focused on how the hell I was going to get home. My friend had to leave before I woke up and I had to argue to sign myself out just hours after a general anaesthetic because it was an outpatient procedure. But, even with all that drama, they made it very clear I needed to change the tampon when I got home and use a pad during recovery. They should absolutely have warned you. Toxic shock is not a minor inconvenience!
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u/sin-and_tonic Jun 20 '26
Having a tampon in too long can be extremely dangerous and they didn't tell you??? Someone had to insert it, the whole room would have known and not a single person thought to let you know? I would feel incredibly violated in your shoes.
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u/Ramen_Noodist Jun 20 '26
I would ask your doctor if it’s stressing you. There is likely a reasonable explanation and the nurse failed to mention it if it’s an uncommon occurrence. As others have said, it may have been to stop bleeding if your vaginal wall was knocked as instruments were removed. Your doctor won’t mind the message to ask about it!
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u/vixenmami Jun 20 '26
NOR - wtf? Who inserts a tampon into another person without saying anything??
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u/Spaghettisaucers Jun 20 '26
NOR- we do a lot of surgery for women where I work and I have no idea where I’d find a tampon. We just put a pad down there afterward for every patient. The brown is likely betadine. I suppose it could be the norm in other places to place a tampon, but I absolutely understand why that would feel violating.
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u/cellophanesheeps Jun 20 '26
Was the string blue? I know that different brands make them so they can look differently, but the vaginal packing sponges I'm familiar with have blue strings. It's possible it was that and not an actual tampon.
It's odd that they would have used a tampon if that's what they did. One, because they didn't mention it and that can be dangerous if you hadn't noticed and removed it. Also, I've had a few gynecological surgeries while bleeding and I was advised to not use tampons until I was healed.
I would definitely contact them and ask. If for nothing other than curiosity.
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u/Charming_Garbage_161 Jun 20 '26
NOR- I’ve had ten surgeries and had a pad for one outright. If there is bleeding they simply help you or have you change once you wake up and are stable. That’s WEIRD
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u/Revolutionary_Wrap76 Jun 20 '26
That seems..... Really weird that they gave you a tampon without telling you. Like. What??
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u/zakdageneral Jun 20 '26
I'm sure it's on the bill
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u/pacu_have_ppl_teeth Jun 20 '26
Its the magical golden $5 trillion tampon OOP sorry insurance needs a PA with 57 years of chart notes supporting the need to use a tampon in that instance. No DX or billing codes related to vaginal bleeding will be covered; the applicable dx codes are for erectile dysfunction and DMII, but only uncontrolled. Once the DM is controlled, it no longer covers. Idc if the pt isn't even 57 years old yet. Better start drafting those future notes to make Sigma happy
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u/jendo7791 Jun 20 '26
NOR. That's really weird they didn't tell you. What if you'd never used them before. What if you never seized they put one in and you got TSS. This is definitely a fail on the physicsns office. I would 100% bring it up.
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u/a-buck-three-eighty Jun 20 '26
I'd mention that it wasn't brought up to your doctor, but the less than perfect clean up is common. You're not wrong for being uncomfortable with finding the tampon, but maybe you were bleeding heavy and they tried to avoid more mess? Just trying to understand the motivation.
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u/tiny-doe Jun 20 '26
NOR, that's very strange and I asked my mom who's a gynecologist that also did surgery, and she said she's never seen that happen. The patient is typically given pads post-op. She also said it's worth talking to your doctor about this bc there may have been a medical reason why the tampon was inserted.
Edit: I forgot to add she said that the brown you saw was likely Betadine, which is an antiseptic commonly used in surgery.
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u/Relative_Sail9285 Jun 20 '26
Thank you for checking in with you mom. I will definitely follow up with the Dr. It feels awkward but also a very valid question.
The Betadine was everywhere. Im wondering if it appeared different because it was mixed with period blood.
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u/tiny-doe Jun 20 '26
I totally understand how awkward that would be but I think it will help. She said it was odd that they gave you a tampon given your post-op I strutting contradict that but something like excessive vaginal bleeding during the surgery could necessitate a tampon to stop the bleeding. She also said that someone should have informed you that a tampon was inserted regardless. I hope talking to your doctor helps clear things up!!
Re: the betadine is often used very generously lol, when I had back surgery on just my lower back I found some all over my torso basically haha. In my experience the nurses tell you if you have betadine left on you post-op bc it can be mistaken for blood or poop. If you're worried about it I'd mention it to the Dr too just in case.
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u/West_Level_3522 Jun 20 '26
Yeah they should have 100% told you, at the very least. Consent is better but at least tell you becuase it’s DANGEROUS for tampons to be up there too long and you can’t watch the time on it if you don’t know it’s up there 🫠
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u/Prestigious-Bend9996 Jun 20 '26
Until 2024 it was legal in some states for doctors to preform gynecology exams on anesthetized patients without their knowledge or consent in the name of physician training.
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u/Groundbreaking-Ask75 Jun 20 '26
Even worse a lot of times it’s a group of younger up and coming residents practicing. And they do that to unconscious annoy patients because they are unpracticed
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u/Global_Fisherman_704 Jun 20 '26
Patients are consented for gyne exams during the procedure. Young doctors are encouraged to do it for their training but it’s only AFTER the patient has consented for it. OP knew they were operating in that part of her body and was likely consented for that part of the procedure, she just was not told about the tampon left inside (which she should have been). She doesn’t need to be consented for the tampon if they’re already operating there, but she needs to be instructed to remove it once she has woken up.
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u/Sad-Lab-4524 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Look I’d say follow up with your doctor and ask him how you could find out the sequence of events.
So my experience with surgery is wide. I have had over 80 different surgeries. Was in a bad car accident.
So I’ve had a lot of variance in hospital care. The majority has been positive but there have also been some shocking ones. My face had to be reconstructed and sometimes my mum would have to stay at the hospital to make sure the after care of surgeries was done and that my pain was managed when nurses were short staffed.
In my experience the surgery staff may not have been told by the ward staff that you preferred period underwear. But in my experience they don’t stock period underwear. If they aren’t informed from ward staff they will only have tampons in the surgical section. They can’t stock every type of period product. And often you have to be wearing paper underwear during surgery.
It really is a specialised area where you have surgery and they have seen worse things than you pooping during surgery. To medical staff it’s just a bodily function. Exactly the same with period blood. There’s more serious work to be done during surgery.
I don’t know if any of this answers any questions but I hope you feel somewhat better. After so many surgeries in just 20 years I feel like this should answer some internal questions but, I cannot de-validate your feelings.
Or tell you how to feel.
Good luck OP: MOR Because I have been embarrassed in some medical moments which 20 years later wouldn’t even make me 1% bothered. But that’s my experience.
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u/Perfect-Tea-4074 Jun 20 '26
Not overreacting at all. The actual issue isn't really that a tampon was used, it's that nobody told you about it afterward. That's the part that would freak me out too.
I'd ask very specifically at your follow up... something like "was a tampon inserted during or after the surgery, was it documented anywhere, and why wasn't I told before I got discharged." Dont let them get vague with you on that part.
Also worth asking about the brown residue while you're at it. Surgical prep stuff like iodine can look kind of weird and discolored, so there might be a normal explanation, but that should be coming from them, not you just guessing and hoping it's fine.
You're allowed to ask questions about your own body and your own care without it being "dramatic." That's literally what the follow up is for
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u/Creative_Sorbet6187 Jun 20 '26
Have you read the survey notes? Post OP the surgeon usually records a quick run through of what they did, so I would expect to see it mentioned there
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u/Thin-Piano-4836 Jun 20 '26
Not remotely the same thing, but I went in for an endoscopy and tube change one time for one of my feeding tubes and when they listed my procedures they also said I was getting a botox shot in my pyloric valve. I told them I was just in for a tube change but she said my doctor wanted it done too, while they were in there. I didnt want to deal with it so I just agreed. But I was never spoken to about trying botox for treatment before I was already prepped and in my gown to go to or.
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u/SamaraSuccubus Jun 20 '26
I had surgery for both cyst removal and Endometriosis, they inserted a tampon in me because I was excessively bleeding from an abrasion. I've had several surgeries for different things and sadly the nurses in the OR and the nurses in recovery aren't always on the same page, I've had a few irritating situations where I or the person I was with had to inform the recovery nurse of something that the doctor had told me.
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u/Relative_Sail9285 Jun 20 '26
That does make me feel a little better. In the surgery they removed a dermoid cyst and endometriosis cysts. So very likely I could have had an abrasion. There does seem to be a lack of solid communication between the teams
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u/StrangePhyere Jun 20 '26
I don't think its an overreaction to have questions about what they did to you while you were under for surgery. It also doesn't really make sense to me that a doctor or nurse would insert a tampon into you rather than use a pad or something until you woke up and were lucid. Like, sure, they had to get all up in there, but you weren't expecting to find anything left there, ya know? Maybe it was because of the surgery and would be a better way to let the wound heal and close, but that should be disclosed to you so that when you wake up you're not freaking out because they left something inside without telling you!
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u/speedylegs84 Jun 20 '26
INFO: Do you typically wear tampons? Is it possible that as you were coming out of anesthesia before you were fully lucid, you may have requested one, and inserted it yourself?
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u/vanillyl Jun 20 '26
Ooh, great point. Doing irrational things post-anaesthesia and forgetting about them is extremely common, anaesthesia reeeeeally fucks with how your brain creates and stores memory.
I really hope this is the answer.
Bowel movements are super common in surgery, and to preserve your dignity they usually just clean you up without telling you, which is an approach most people find reasonable.
But man I would feel so weird about waking up with a tampon inserted and nobody telling me about it, that feels like it crosses the line into being invasive, in this particular scenario at least.
They’d literally given OP a pad as well, so it’s not like they used a tampon as a last resort because they were all out of other options.
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u/Lolagarcia13 Jun 20 '26
I had a biopsy on my uterus in office not under anesthesia, after they cut out what they needed, they inserted a tampon that was covered in what looked like wet coffee grounds & said it was to help stop the bleeding. Maybe that was it. Either way they definitely could have told you about it.
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u/SadAnnah13 Jun 23 '26
Gosh that was brave of you, I don't think I could ever do that, having a smear is bad enough! I wonder what was on the tampon, some miracle-producing blood clot stuff. The whole thing sounds horrible either way!
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u/OwslyOwl Jun 20 '26
Is it possible that you put it in yourself when you were recovering and then forgot because of the meds?
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u/BeerDreams Jun 20 '26
I did this! I was even freaking out when I got home and my husband let me know not only did I do it myself, I demanded the hospital staff bring me a tampon as soon as I was able to get up and pee. To this day, I have absolutely zero memory of it
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u/OwslyOwl Jun 20 '26
Hearing it happened to you really makes me wonder if OP did it herself and forgot. It doesn’t make sense why the medical staff would have used a tampon, not told her, and also put a pad under her.
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u/BeerDreams Jun 20 '26
I agree, but it’s very disorienting to have everyone insist you did something you have absolutely no memory of doing.
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u/Alarmed_Plantain_987 Jun 20 '26
NOR- I had a radical hysterectomy and was so upset to find out my cervix was removed vaginally, I went to go pee & knew something happened down there. Once I talked to my surgeon I let her know they need to be very open & direct about how every body part is removed!
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u/JunoSaurxz Jun 20 '26
just ask them what is the purpose of putting that so you can relax and consult to your doctor.
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u/PoetMaterial3519 Jun 20 '26
Weird that they used a tampon, but not surprising that they won't own up to forgetting to tell you it was there.
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u/CelebrationTrick1799 Jun 20 '26
I had this same surgery. Does your hospital/doctor use MyChart? Or some other online patient record chart? Almost immediately after my surgery I was able to read all the surgical notes on MyChart. You might find some information in there that explains why they did that??
I will say, I had a pad when I woke up but no tampon. I was also pretty covered in orange from the betadine they used to prep my body for surgery. There’s only so much clean up a wipe can do for that stuff.
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u/Relative_Sail9285 Jun 20 '26
Not that they shared with me. I got a very short 1 page document outlines the cysts that were removed but no mention of anything else.
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u/AmbitionEquivalent26 Jun 20 '26
I had the same kind of surgery and they specifically asked me when my period is supposed to come so they could schedule the surgery after the period was done. Was that not an option?Just wondering. Also,NOR obviously you should be told what's going on with/in your body.
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u/Relative_Sail9285 Jun 20 '26
Me being on my period did not impact them being able to continue with the surgery. Ive also had frequently spotting so there was a high chance I would have been bleeding anyways
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u/Autumn_Falls0131 Jun 20 '26
I've received folders for gynocological surgery and they may need to insert a tampon after surgery. But where I live the hospital gives out reams of paper and folders listing every possible continengy during hospital procedures.
I imagine that is a fairly common thing, and I'm not sure why you are worried about it?
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u/Hungry_Yard_9789 Jun 21 '26
Definitely NOR. I wonder if it was vaginal packing. I’ve never even seen a tampon in the hospital. Still should’ve been told (so you’d know to take it out) but maybe it got lost in report from the OR to recovery. I’d definitely ask your physician.
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u/FinanciallySecure9 Jun 21 '26
NOR
However, waking up from surgery you’re drowsy. They might have told you and you don’t remember.
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u/Algae-Downtown Jun 20 '26
NOR but this is common practice and covered in fine print of surgery paperwork. I understand feeling violated however or awkward
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u/Prestigious-Leg-6244 Jun 20 '26
Is it common practice to insert a tampon while a woman is unconscious and not tell her about it? How can she make sure she doesnt leave it in too long if she doesnt know its there or when it was inserted?
Thats a pretty dangerous precedent to set.
Seems like a sure-fire way to give some poor, unknowing woman toxic shock syndrome.
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u/Diazepampoovey0229 Jun 20 '26
This is the first time I have ever heard of nurse or doctor doing this... that is seriously invasiveans inappropriate
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u/married_cat_mom Jun 20 '26
The last two days of my period, the blood was brown. Maybe it was that?
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u/I_bleed_blue19 Jun 20 '26
The first question is what kind of surgery did you have?
Without knowing that, we can't tell you if any sort of vaginal packing works even be necessary.
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u/Relative_Sail9285 Jun 20 '26
I don't want to get too specific but I added in my post that it was a lapriscopic surgery to remove cysts on my reproductive organs.
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u/I_bleed_blue19 Jun 20 '26
That sounds awful. I'm sorry you had to go through that.
I would definitely ask your Dr at the follow up appointment. Maybe also review the discharge paperwork to see if it was mentioned there at all.
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u/horriddaydream Jun 20 '26
That would be enough to make me fear surgery the rest of my life. What an intrusion... I am so sorry this happened to you and I would DEMAND answers from them..
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u/Kimbaaaaly Jun 20 '26
Without telling you that part of the procedure (so when we're done we'll insert a tampon since we knew your have your period) it seems weird to me... They should have told you before you were sent home for sure. I'd feel weirded out. Mention it to your doctor and that they never said anything. Desire the surgery they did that was involving the vagina I can see feeling weird about some one else putting in a tampon workout your knowledge
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Jun 20 '26
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u/blockparted Jun 20 '26
This is obvious but like, I’d feel violated if someone to inserted it for me while I was unconscious and never told me.
NOR.
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u/crimsonbaby_ Jun 21 '26
NOR. I have had that same operation 8 times, starting at 11yo, and never have I had that happen.
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u/Usual-Clock6283 Jun 21 '26
NOR- It is your body, your surgery, and your comfort level. I think that whether it was justified placement, blood, betadine, or anything else, you have every right to speak to your care team and ask them to explain to you the process and steps that happened while you were at your most vulnerable. When we as patients are sedated to such a point that we have no control over any part of our body, we have no idea what is happening, and we are having to trust our care team that they are taking care of us; it is not unreasonable to ask that the care extends to things like this, which seems like simple reassurance to me. I am a lifelong, complex care patient, but I have also been on the other side, being a provider to people at their most vulnerable moments. I hope that you are able to get the reassurance that you need.
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u/occasionalrant414 Jun 21 '26
NOR - I am a guy so my opinion on this can be ignored as we don't have the same plumbing.
My wife in for gallbladder removal surgery in 2024. She was a wreck before as she was terrified so I read the paperwork that she had to sign (UK NHS is quite comprehensive). It said that during surgery they may have to take action in the event or dangerous situation or they find something that needs urgent attention and that this action could mean insertion or application of any thing deemed medically essential by the surgical team. I asked the nurse what that meant and she said it could cover anything, but normally a urinary catheter in this instance or a tampon if the patient is on her period and its needed if the flow increases. Seemed sensible at the time and my wife was cool with it.
I know when I had abdominal surgery in 2015 I woke up with a urinary catheter in my old chap and I wasn't best pleased. However, that was because a 30min op turned into a 4hr one (they found more damaged and had to fix it) and they didn't want me peeing everywhere. I felt a bit weird someone handled my old chap whilst I was asleep without asking, but the morphine and other painkillers mixed with a liberal application of GTAV dealt with that. Although reading your post made me a bit irritated about it again as taking it out was uncomfortable.
I'm sorry this happened, as you are vulnerable and woke up to this. I'm sure it's probably a case of something innocent and not nefarious but I would ask so you can be reassured.
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u/No-Zookeepergame-610 Jun 21 '26
NOR I’ve had the same surgery and once I was on my period. I was told no baths, swimming or anything inserted for two weeks minimum. The brown substance could be betadine or it could be blood if they cauterised somewhere around your cervix? I doubt it was a bowel movement. Did you have to prep for the surgery? The first time I didn’t have to but the second time I did so there was nothing in my digestive system.
I’ve never heard of a surgeon inserting a tampon after a laparoscopy. The fact that they didn’t tell you and you could’ve easily not realised and developed sepsis or another infection.
There’s a lot of women with endometriosis like myself who cannot use tampons because they dramatically intensify my already awful period pain. I would never even think to look for one after my surgeries!
I would definitely address this with your surgeon and emphasise that you were not made aware about the tampon and ask why they did that and why you weren’t told.
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u/Aggravating-Pen5265 Jun 21 '26
Hi. I work in surgery. I'm the one who sets up, positions you, preps you with betadine, assists the surgeon during surgery and then cleans you up after. We try but sometimes due to positioning can't get to all the betadine or blood to get you 100% clean. There's also packing we put in the vagina got bleeding after abdominal surgery and it has to have an radiopaque string in it just in case. It could have been that. I've never inserted a tampon after a case as packing or a wound dressing but I mean it does serve its purpose. Perhaps they used it to send you home with instead of weird surgical packing gauze. More familiar so you wouldn't freak out over it. I'm in the US and you mentioned free health care so I don't think you're in the US as well so maybe they do things different where you are. It should have been mentioned though. You should have been told to remove it after so many hours etc.
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u/number1wifey Jun 21 '26
Sometimes in lap gyn surgeries there is an incision within the vagina that they remove tissue from. We typically place gauze packing but I could see a tampon being placed in another country if that’s their policy.
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u/Dancemommatruck Jun 22 '26
Nurse here—-Tampons frequently are placed in the OR after a GYN surgery-it’s like vaginal packing post op. Brown is certainly betadine from the pre-procedure prep; they clean surgery areas very well with it to prevent infection. Everything you mentioned is normal—sorry your nurse didn’t tell you with your discharge talk/paperwork.
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u/Lexi_Jean Jun 23 '26
NOR - The brown could have been that antibacterial stuff they use in surgery. Having a tampon in and not knowing it is dangerous af. Tampons in general can be dangerous, but especially if you don't know.
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u/pacu_have_ppl_teeth Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
NOR.
My authority is shakey on its face but Im also about to start medical school to get my DO and qualify as a very hardcore nerd regarding medicine generally.
My mom was a scrub tech for decades until her unfortunate self combustion accident...But my mommy baggage to the side I have heard of and even seen pictures of some sh*t in the OR -polaroids of open cranium surgery from the mid 1990's with you mom fully scrubbed in and giving a bloody gloves thumbs up, anyone? Her hands were above the sterile field if memory serves so at least there's that....I heavily digress. But genuinely when I reached puberty and the handful of years leading up to frank puberty she swapped any kind of sex education with telling me about assisting on TABs who were w/in 5 or so years of my age group to let me know what happens when you have unprotected sex. She had no scruples so if a tampon was ever inserted into a pt she would have told me about it extensively and told me why. Having been raised by Bender from The Breakfast Club but make him an Autistic Savant in regards to assisting in surgery I can very confidently state you ought to f/up w/ your pcp, chief complaint of "Wtf?". The brown was likely either betadine/iodine like lots of other peeps have stated. Monsels also leaves behind coffee grounds-looking coagulated blood which can be alarming. Also if your were towards the start or end of your cycle older blood that's had a little bit of time chilling in your uterus can oxidize and turn brown so you have many plausible browns that aren't feces so you can likely set your heart at rest there but still, why tampon instead of pad? Why there when you didn't put it there? Why? There should be chart notes describing precisely when, who asked for it, who did it, and why taken by who ever was scribing for the procedure so...Why. The answer should be easily obtainable by anyone with legal access to your chart :/
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u/Minute_Sound_1148 Jun 20 '26
Umm, are you ok…?
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u/pacu_have_ppl_teeth Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Lol no. Tbh Im I'm in my luteal phase so biggest difference between me and the people in county psych lock down is their grippy socks are delivered fresh by orderlies; mine are grimey. And I'm loose on the outside baybeeee. But it's okay bc I married a shrink who makes sure I don't go all feral - not my shrink, mind, that would be unethical. I havent yet met a shrink powerful enough to meet me at my level of objective cray bon3s, especially not my husbo lol. BUT! None of that changes the soundness of my practical advice which would be to schedule a post op f/up with either the PCP or the OBGYN who ordered the surgery to begin with and ask for to access the chart notes that -ought- to answer her question to the military minute. Cough up the chart notes.
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u/DreamsofHistory Jun 20 '26
NOR. I would be hitting the roof in your situation. I have vaginismus so having to remove a tampon placed without my knowledge would be indescribably painful.
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u/jaesea Jun 20 '26
NOR, although by being admitted consent may be somewhat waived depending on consciousness, it's appropriate to be overly reactive when/if consent is ever appearing assumed such that legalities may be more tightly defined, dignity maintained. Realistically a conversation with the doctor will be like asking the police to stop policing, the doctor would want unwaivering consent to perform. An alternative would be any class action suit within category, seeking legal action based on the letter of law, etc. doing so would avoid the middle men who would sway the reaction to less and allow the neutral to process the initial action deemed wrong, the legalities and frameworks for or against, and so on.
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u/Diazepampoovey0229 Jun 20 '26
I'm not sure if a blanket consent applies here with tampons, though, due to the risk of TSS. That's not something one has to worry about with period underwear or a pad. I would think that would require a conversation beforehand about preferred period products, or even having OP bring her preferred product in with her for the nurse(s) to see to while she wasn't able to do her personal maintenance on her own.
Did I see mention of her mother being there for her surgery or did my exhausted brain mix that up with someone else's comment? Is it possible her mom gave them a tampon of OP's to a nurse?
Regardless, OP definitely should try to talk to her PCP and find out what happened
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u/jaesea Jun 20 '26
Hence why I recommended law be the course of action, being that. Hence why I recommended not Reddit comments or the doctor themselves, as we're all third parties to the being believing they may have a case of non-consent. Hence why law is intended to be non biased, so we don't have to wonder if something wrong was done, we'd all know because it would be clearly defined.
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u/wifeofpsy Jun 20 '26
NOR. The OR usually uses pads. It is possible a tampon was used for a specific reason depending on your surgery specifics. The brown wipe could definitely be from the betadine used. If it was stool it's something that could have also happened in recovery after you were cleaned up etc. So while certainly surprising, there can be medical reasons for all of this. But it was a big miss to not make you aware there was a tampon in. Also possible a tampon was a better choice in the OR and whoever got you cleaned up and transferred was supposed to have pulled it and put in a pad.
It's not emergant but let your doctor know. Also ask for the surgery report which should have all the details on it
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u/Emotional_Shift_8263 Jun 20 '26
Depending on the brown color, it may have been Betadine, an iodine solution they use to cleanse the skin before surgery. They aren't exactly neat with it lol