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WhatsApp (876) 676-6297 or schedule a consultation at 9 Devon Road in Kingston.

Major Gynaecological Surgery in Kingston, Jamaica | When It Is Needed

Q: How long is the hospital stay after open gynaecological surgery?

After an open hysterectomy, most women go home after two to five days.

01The basics

What is major gynaecological surgery?

It is an operation through one larger cut in the belly. The cut is about 10 centimetres (4 inches) or more. It usually runs across the bikini line, and may run up and down from the navel for large fibroids. It leaves a scar.

Big fibroids: A womb made very big by fibroids may need an open operation. Fibroid removal keeps your womb. A hysterectomy removes it, and your periods stop for good. If you want to keep your womb, say so: whether that can be done depends on the size, number and place of your fibroids. More on our fibroid removal and hysterectomy pages.
A large ovarian cyst: An open operation may be recommended for a cyst that is particularly large or might be cancer.
If cancer is suspected: Cancer surgery is planned and done by a specialist cancer team, with a surgeon who specialises in these cancers. Ask to be seen by one.
Usually not open surgery: When deep endometriosis or prolapse needs surgery, it is usually a smaller operation. Deep endometriosis belongs with a specialist endometriosis service.

Keep in mind

What a bigger operation asks of you.

Open surgery means longer in hospital, more pain at first and a slower recovery than keyhole surgery. One large hospital in England says the risks of a hysterectomy are usually lower by the other ways.

Some of it cannot be undone. After a hysterectomy you cannot become pregnant. If your ovaries are removed, the menopause follows, and even if they stay it may come earlier.

Not operating is one of the choices too. Ask what happens if you wait.

02Who decides

Who decides that you need it?

You and Dr. Charles Rockhead, at 9 Devon Road in Kingston. He goes through your history, examines you, explains your options and checks whether a smaller operation could work for you. He performs the operation himself. Ask where it takes place. Nothing is booked until you decide.

Dr. Charles Rockhead, Medical Director — Oshun Cosmetic Services, Kingston.

Dr. Charles Rockhead

Medical Director · Board-Certified OB/GYN · 30+ years of practice

Dr. Charles Rockhead is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with more than thirty years of practice in Kingston. He is the Medical Director of Oshun Cosmetic Services and the founding physician of Amadeo Medical Group, the parent clinical practice.

Read the clinic story · View Dr. Rockhead's LinkedIn

03The operation

Before, in hospital, and going home.

We allow two to five hours in theatre. The NHS says an open hysterectomy itself takes about an hour.

i.

Before

You have a check before the operation, with blood tests. Tell us every medicine, herb and bush tea you take, and never stop one unless a doctor tells you to. If you smoke, stop at least four weeks before. Low blood (anaemia), diabetes and high blood pressure should be under control first. We tell you when to stop eating and drinking; follow it exactly.

ii.

In hospital

You are asleep, under a general anaesthetic. Afterwards you may have a drip, and a tube to drain your urine (a catheter), usually for a day or two. You are given pain relief. The nurses get you up to walk the next day, and you may have stockings or injections to prevent blood clots.

iii.

Going home

After an open hysterectomy most women go home after two to five days. Get someone to drive you home and to stay with you for the first few days. You will need help with heavy work, children and anyone you care for during the first weeks.

iv.

The stitches

Stitches that do not dissolve, and staples, come out at about five to ten days. Keep the cut clean and dry. We check it at one to two weeks.

04Recovery

Recovery, and when to get help.

Time off work: Many women need six to eight weeks off, and heavy or manual work may need longer. Some are back at three to four weeks if there were no complications.
Driving, lifting and sex: You can usually drive again after three to six weeks, once you can wear a seatbelt in comfort and do an emergency stop. No heavy lifting and no sex for at least six to eight weeks, and wait to be checked before sex. After a hysterectomy, put nothing in the vagina for six weeks.
How you may feel: Some women feel loss or sadness after a hysterectomy, and some become depressed. Tell us if you do.
When to get help: Go to a hospital at once for breathlessness, chest pain, coughing up blood, a very fast heartbeat, fainting, or belly pain that keeps getting worse with a fever, vomiting, or no wind or stool. Do not drive yourself. For these signs, call us straight away on (876) 676-6297: one leg that is painful, swollen or changed in colour, a fever, a cut that bleeds, swells, feels hot or leaks, burning when you pass urine, not being able to pass urine, pain your tablets do not ease, or bleeding that turns heavy, smells, has clots or starts again. We are closed at night and from Friday to Sunday. If we are closed, do not wait for us: go to a hospital.

05Risks

The risks, and who it is not for.

The risks: Bleeding that needs a transfusion, infection of the cut or the urine, a blood clot in the leg or lung, damage to the bladder, a ureter (the tube from a kidney to the bladder) or the bowel, a hernia at the cut, and problems with the anaesthetic.
How often: One large hospital in England tells its patients that about 4 women in 100 have a serious complication after an open hysterectomy, and that 23 in 1,000 need blood. Dying within six weeks of the operation is rare: it gives 32 in 100,000, about 3 women in 10,000.
Scar tissue inside: Most people form some scar tissue inside after open surgery, and for most it causes no symptoms. For some it causes lasting pain or trouble getting pregnant. It can block the bowel, even years later, and that can be life-threatening: belly pain, bloating, vomiting and passing no wind or stool need a hospital.
What raises and lowers them: Smoking, diabetes, being overweight, fibroids, earlier operations and other illness raise the risks. Stopping smoking, getting low blood and long-term conditions under control, walking early and the stockings or injections all lower some of them.
Who it is not for: We do not operate when the heart or lungs could not take a major operation, with organ failure, or when the problem is better treated without surgery.

06Cost & booking

How much does major gynaecological surgery cost in Jamaica?

What it costs: We estimate US$8,000 to US$15,000 for a hysterectomy or fibroid removal. Before you agree, make sure your quote shows the hospital stay and the anaesthetic.
The consultation: From J$11,000, in person, with Dr. Rockhead.
When we are open: Monday and Wednesday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 AM to 4 PM. Closed Friday to Sunday.
Paying: Cash, debit card, credit card or approved financing. Whether insurance pays depends on your plan, so check before you book.

If this sounds right

The next step is a conversation, not a commitment.

Start with a consultation. Bring your scan reports and any letters you have been given.

Chat with the Oshun care team on WhatsApp Call (876) 676-6297

No obligation · Every consultation is in-person with Dr. Rockhead.

Open gynaecological surgery
in Kingston, Jamaica.

Four things that are true of every visit

A consultation first

Three decades in practice

Your choices, plainly

A written plan

Why a big operation, and not a small one?

What is major gynaecological surgery?