Hello,

I'm two weeks post-op from SRS with Dr. Brassard in Montreal. I wanted to ask if it's normal for dilation to get tougher as the days pass. I've managed to maintain depth, but it feels my vaginal opening has gotten smaller and smaller in that the dilator is tougher and tougher to get in. Once it's in, i have no issues with depth. It's more of a width issue than anything. I'm dilating four times a day and generally i do it in the morning when i first wake up, early afternoon, late afternoon, and just before bed.

The nurses did warn us that after the first initial dilations it would get tough before getting easy again, but i never expected it to be an issue at the two week post-op mark.

Yes. I went to Brassard too, and I'd say the dilation got harder from about day 3 through the end of the first month. It might be swelling - I did notice the swelling got worse as the day went on, and if I overdid it things got *much* worse, so the swelling didn't (as I expected) decrease in some sort of gradual linear fashion. It was more like two steps forward, then three steps back if I exercised too much, etc. That early on, it might also be the PC muscle resisting; it had a hole cut in it, and once the initial "shock" wears off, it starts trying to heal closed. That's partly what the dilation is for. The fact that you have no difficulty with depth does suggest that it might well be just the muscle.

If you can't get the smallest dilator in at all you should call them, but so long as you can, it's probably normal (and lost width can be regained by dilation later on if need be).

Hi Cassie,

I know you were worried about complications.  I hope everything went well for you.

Yes it seems to be a normal thing.
I am also a Montreal girl and things do get tight.
I feel it comes from first the swelling settling in more along with the natural healing of scar tissue.
Remember to relax, i found myself getting more stress down there as the weeks passed due to the schedule of the dilations.
The PC muscle will take a long time to come around so just keep things slow and steady.


Hugs
Izzy