Meet da Vinci Patients
These stories reveal the real-life experiences of people who have faced potentially life-threatening conditions. Each one provides a window into the potential benefits of minimally invasive surgery with the da Vinci® Surgical System.
da Vinci Hysterectomy patient testimonials:
Patient: Dara M.
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. Lynn Kowalski
Institution: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Las Vegas, NV
"When I woke up, the first thing that occurred to me was that I didn't hurt. I went home the next day. The first week I felt tired, but my kids had massive stomach bugs that first week, and I was able to care for them. Within two weeks, I was driving and my husband and I went out on a date night.
Nobody wants to have a surgery done, but if you have to have it, why not take advantage of the technology that's out there to reduce the impact it has on your life? The whole goal is to get back to your life."
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Patient: Lillian E.
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. Lynn Kowalski
Institution: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Las Vegas, NV
"(Dr. Kowalski) came the next morning and she said, 'Did I do surgery on you yesterday?', and I said, 'Yeah. I want to go home.' It was just too easy. What really amazed me ... I went to see the girls at work Tuesday, and they all said to me, 'What are you doing here?' because a lot of them had had hysterectomies and they were still in bed after 10 days.
I never took a pain pill at all. I didn't have any pain. By not being opened, and not losing that much blood, I felt marvelous. I would not even consider using the old method. I like that robotic (method), I really do. Everybody says, 'I want what you had.' They would look at me and say, 'Didn't you have surgery?'"
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Patient: Christina Clark-Zoltec
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. John F. Boggess
Institution: N.C. Women's Hospital at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC
"I had my son's 3rd birthday party, with the works, 4 days (after the procedure). I was a little slow, but, you know, I would have still been in the hospital if I'd had a traditional hysterectomy."
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Patient: Brenda G.
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. John F. Boggess
Institution: N.C. Women's Hospital at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC
"(With da Vinci surgery) I could stay in shape for the next bout of treatment that was coming. With cancer, you're already at a deficit. A big one. And there's another deficit just waiting around the corner. I would say, "Give yourself every break you possibly can." And, of course, for me, the robot was the very first step."
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Patient: Karena O'Connell
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. Mark Zepeda
Institution: St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, CA
"This isn't your mom's hysterectomy, and it's not your grandma's hysterectomy. It's the blink of an eye. It's nothing."
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Patients: Jet St. L; Tonia D.; Sheela M.
Procedure: Hysterectomy & Myomectomy
Surgeons: Colleen Feltmate, MD; Antonio R. Gargiulo, MD; Serene Srouji, MD
Institution: Brigham & Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Jet: "It was just a small chapter out of my life ... I can't say enough about the care that I got."
Tonia: "I was able to go back to work after a week, and today I feel 150%. I have more energy. And we found out the other day that we are pregnant, and we're very excited ... it's almost a miracle."
Sheela: "It was an easy decision. There wasn't much to discuss, because it was the best of all options for me. The recovery has been very, very good. I've been very pleased with laparoscopic surgery."
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Patient: Shula B.
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. John F. Boggess
Institution: N.C. Women's Hospital at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC
"My idea of surgery is a lot of pain and lengthy recovery and a lot of discomfort, and that's not really been my experience. I wasn't expecting to feel this spry the next morning, I feel great. What I thought it meant was six weeks of no activity, taking a long time to get back to my work and to my life. If anything, I may need to go back to work sooner than I would like."
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Patient: Sylvia Tippett
Procedure: Hysterectomy
Surgeon: Dr. John F. Boggess
Institution: N.C. Women's Hospital at the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, NC
"It's mind-boggling to me that I had a total hysterectomy and in less than 24 hours I was headed home and in less than two weeks I was back to normal activities. I don't even feel like I've had surgery. As a nurse, I'm thinking every woman should receive this type of care."
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Learn More
If you are a candidate for hysterectomy, talk to a gynecologist or gynecologic oncologist (a cancer specialist) who performs da Vinci Hysterectomy. To find a da Vinci gynecologic surgeon, use our surgeon locator.