Bill Martin, 60, Plano, TX Date of Surgery: 04/10/2008
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THE DIAGNOSIS
In September 2007, as I was about to turn 60 years of age, I underwent a physical conducted by my
primary care physician. I learned I had an elevated PSA score of 5.5. He had me repeat the test in
January 2008 to see if the score had changed. Though it dropped to 4.8, my doctor made an
appointment for me to see a urologist.
The digital rectal exam showed an abnormality, so my urologist scheduled a biopsy. Twelve
samples were taken, and the pathology report came back with only one sample showing evidence
of cancer. The Gleason score on that pathology report was 3+3=6. My urologist did a good job of
discussing the various treatment options, taking into account the severity of my cancer, my age,
and my overall health. He provided me with an excellent book that discussed all aspects of the
disease and treatment options. Both the urologist and the book made it plain that surgery was
considered the “gold standard” for treatment as it offered the best chance to be cancer free. All
options had some form of side effects (incontinence and erectile dysfunction being the most
common). The book stressed the fact that if surgery was chosen, it was very important to find an
experienced surgeon.
While I had a great deal of confidence in my urologist, I decided to do some further investigation
on the Internet. That is where I first came into contact with minimally-invasive robotic surgery for
removal of the prostate, the DaVinci robot and Dr. Patel. It seemed like a good match for my
situation – it would be as good as open surgery in removing the cancer; it would offer quicker
recovery from surgery with fewer surgical complications; and I would have a much quicker return
of continence and potency. In addition, Dr. Patel had performed more of these procedures than
anyone anywhere, and his practice is focused on this procedure.
THE PRE-SURGERY PERIOD
When I first came across Dr. Patel and robotic surgery on the Internet, I quickly sent him an email
with some questions about the procedure and his approach to surgery. Within 5 or 10 minutes, he
was calling me back to answer those questions and any others I had. This rapid response was a
consistent practice of his throughout the process. After a short period of further study, I became
committed to robotic surgery and Dr. Patel, and decided to call his office to schedule the surgery. I
should note here that I live in Texas, while Dr. Patel is located in the Orlando, Florida area. So
there were some logistical and scheduling issues to work out.
Without exception, every member of Dr. Patel’s staff with whom I dealt was incredibly helpful and
friendly. I was able to fill out and send them all the medical history forms. In return, they sent me
forms to give my primary care physician to allow him to do further tests to certify me for surgery.
My wife and I flew to Orlando on April 8th. I met with Dr. Patel in his offices next to the hospital on
April 9th to review all of my case records prior to surgery. I did the usual prep for an abdominal
procedure on April 9th.
THE DAY OF SURGERY
We went to the hospital on April 10th for surgery. I should note here that the hospital (Florida
Hospital Celebration Health) is a truly wonderful place with a nice, friendly ambiance. We were met
at the entrance by Dr. Patel’s concierge, who walked us through the hospital admissions process
and took us up to the surgery area. Not having to deal with any hospital logistics just before
surgery greatly reduced my anxiety level, an hour or so before surgery, I was taken into a
presurgery area where I changed into the hospital gown and met all of the surgical team. I felt
quite confident going into surgery.
I left the presurgery area around noon and did not “wake up” until around 4PM. I was in my hospital
room at that time. The room had a neat fold-out bed that allowed my wife to stay the night. Very
nice. She even got a breakfast tray the next day. I was not in any significant pain the day of surgery
and even got up to walk around that night. The only discomfort was the catheter but that was
manageable.
THE DAY AFTER SURGERY
I woke up on April 11th and had breakfast in my hospital room. There was still no significant pain.
The pain pump attached to my abdomen dispensed subcutaneous pain relievers in the area of the
“incisions” and that seemed to be sufficient. Dr. Patel came by and gave me a report of how the
surgery had gone. He helped my spirits a lot by saying that all had gone well. I was also visited by
several nurses who walked my wife and me through the postoperative process (mainly the
catheter and the pain pump). We had decided to remain in the Orlando area until April 17th so we
could have Dr. Patel’s staff remove the catheter. I left the hospital around noon on the day after
surgery and returned to our hotel.
THE WEEK AFTER SURGERY
We spent the week after surgery in Orlando. Though I was given a prescription for a fairly strong
pain medicine, I never had to fill it and was able to get by with only Extra Strength Tylenol at
bedtime. After getting pretty good at managing the catheter, we went back to the hospital on April
15th to see if the catheter could be removed and to review my post-surgical pathology report. Both
of these events caused me some anxiety. The process to determine if I had healed enough to
remove the catheter went very well, and the Foley was removed that day in Dr. Patel’s office. My
pathology report was also better than I could have hoped (negative margins, prostate capsule
intact). Dr. Patel’s staff also walked me through the follow up activities I would need to do over the
coming months. During my week in the hotel room, I was able to do quite a bit of walking. The
weather was very conducive to strolling outside, and I took full advantage of it. After I had the
catheter removed, I was continent right away. I did wear the pads as a precaution but they turned
out to not be necessary in my case.
WHAT DID IT MEAN?
While I won’t know the final outcome until later (I have my first post-op PSA test six weeks after
surgery and it is too early to tell conclusively about potency), the choice of robotic surgery seems
to have been the right one. As I reasoned, it seems to have cured the cancer without any
significant side effects. Having a cancer diagnosis is a scary thing, and I am now on a path to get
through it successfully. I feel like I have a second chance to live the rest of my life. I hope to make
the best of it. I would recommend Dr. Patel and Robotic Surgery without question. I really have not
said enough about how capable and caring Dr. Patel is. He is the master of this procedure. The
surgical environments (hospital, offices) are new and first rate. His staff is the best – efficient,
friendly and caring. The robotic prostatectomy was perfect for my case.
In September 2007, as I was about to turn 60 years of age, I underwent a physical conducted by my
primary care physician. I learned I had an elevated PSA score of 5.5. He had me repeat the test in
January 2008 to see if the score had changed. Though it dropped to 4.8, my doctor made an
appointment for me to see a urologist.
The digital rectal exam showed an abnormality, so my urologist scheduled a biopsy. Twelve
samples were taken, and the pathology report came back with only one sample showing evidence
of cancer. The Gleason score on that pathology report was 3+3=6. My urologist did a good job of
discussing the various treatment options, taking into account the severity of my cancer, my age,
and my overall health. He provided me with an excellent book that discussed all aspects of the
disease and treatment options. Both the urologist and the book made it plain that surgery was
considered the “gold standard” for treatment as it offered the best chance to be cancer free. All
options had some form of side effects (incontinence and erectile dysfunction being the most
common). The book stressed the fact that if surgery was chosen, it was very important to find an
experienced surgeon.
While I had a great deal of confidence in my urologist, I decided to do some further investigation
on the Internet. That is where I first came into contact with minimally-invasive robotic surgery for
removal of the prostate, the DaVinci robot and Dr. Patel. It seemed like a good match for my
situation – it would be as good as open surgery in removing the cancer; it would offer quicker
recovery from surgery with fewer surgical complications; and I would have a much quicker return
of continence and potency. In addition, Dr. Patel had performed more of these procedures than
anyone anywhere, and his practice is focused on this procedure.
THE PRE-SURGERY PERIOD
When I first came across Dr. Patel and robotic surgery on the Internet, I quickly sent him an email
with some questions about the procedure and his approach to surgery. Within 5 or 10 minutes, he
was calling me back to answer those questions and any others I had. This rapid response was a
consistent practice of his throughout the process. After a short period of further study, I became
committed to robotic surgery and Dr. Patel, and decided to call his office to schedule the surgery. I
should note here that I live in Texas, while Dr. Patel is located in the Orlando, Florida area. So
there were some logistical and scheduling issues to work out.
Without exception, every member of Dr. Patel’s staff with whom I dealt was incredibly helpful and
friendly. I was able to fill out and send them all the medical history forms. In return, they sent me
forms to give my primary care physician to allow him to do further tests to certify me for surgery.
My wife and I flew to Orlando on April 8th. I met with Dr. Patel in his offices next to the hospital on
April 9th to review all of my case records prior to surgery. I did the usual prep for an abdominal
procedure on April 9th.
THE DAY OF SURGERY
We went to the hospital on April 10th for surgery. I should note here that the hospital (Florida
Hospital Celebration Health) is a truly wonderful place with a nice, friendly ambiance. We were met
at the entrance by Dr. Patel’s concierge, who walked us through the hospital admissions process
and took us up to the surgery area. Not having to deal with any hospital logistics just before
surgery greatly reduced my anxiety level, an hour or so before surgery, I was taken into a
presurgery area where I changed into the hospital gown and met all of the surgical team. I felt
quite confident going into surgery.
I left the presurgery area around noon and did not “wake up” until around 4PM. I was in my hospital
room at that time. The room had a neat fold-out bed that allowed my wife to stay the night. Very
nice. She even got a breakfast tray the next day. I was not in any significant pain the day of surgery
and even got up to walk around that night. The only discomfort was the catheter but that was
manageable.
THE DAY AFTER SURGERY
I woke up on April 11th and had breakfast in my hospital room. There was still no significant pain.
The pain pump attached to my abdomen dispensed subcutaneous pain relievers in the area of the
“incisions” and that seemed to be sufficient. Dr. Patel came by and gave me a report of how the
surgery had gone. He helped my spirits a lot by saying that all had gone well. I was also visited by
several nurses who walked my wife and me through the postoperative process (mainly the
catheter and the pain pump). We had decided to remain in the Orlando area until April 17th so we
could have Dr. Patel’s staff remove the catheter. I left the hospital around noon on the day after
surgery and returned to our hotel.
THE WEEK AFTER SURGERY
We spent the week after surgery in Orlando. Though I was given a prescription for a fairly strong
pain medicine, I never had to fill it and was able to get by with only Extra Strength Tylenol at
bedtime. After getting pretty good at managing the catheter, we went back to the hospital on April
15th to see if the catheter could be removed and to review my post-surgical pathology report. Both
of these events caused me some anxiety. The process to determine if I had healed enough to
remove the catheter went very well, and the Foley was removed that day in Dr. Patel’s office. My
pathology report was also better than I could have hoped (negative margins, prostate capsule
intact). Dr. Patel’s staff also walked me through the follow up activities I would need to do over the
coming months. During my week in the hotel room, I was able to do quite a bit of walking. The
weather was very conducive to strolling outside, and I took full advantage of it. After I had the
catheter removed, I was continent right away. I did wear the pads as a precaution but they turned
out to not be necessary in my case.
WHAT DID IT MEAN?
While I won’t know the final outcome until later (I have my first post-op PSA test six weeks after
surgery and it is too early to tell conclusively about potency), the choice of robotic surgery seems
to have been the right one. As I reasoned, it seems to have cured the cancer without any
significant side effects. Having a cancer diagnosis is a scary thing, and I am now on a path to get
through it successfully. I feel like I have a second chance to live the rest of my life. I hope to make
the best of it. I would recommend Dr. Patel and Robotic Surgery without question. I really have not
said enough about how capable and caring Dr. Patel is. He is the master of this procedure. The
surgical environments (hospital, offices) are new and first rate. His staff is the best – efficient,
friendly and caring. The robotic prostatectomy was perfect for my case.
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