I have not stopped raving about Dr. Lanalee Sam since my surgery! I tell everyone I speak with how amazed I am at my experience. Nobody yet has been able to top my story or my speedy recovery!

Although I have had this uterine fibroid for years, I have successfully been able to avoid surgery. I had no symptoms and the fibroid was causing no problems so I couldn't bring myself to go through my pre-conceived notion of a hysterectomy when it wasn't absolutely necessary.

After my recent ultrasound and subsequent CT scan revealed that it was now impacting my ureter and kidney, I could no longer avoid action. Thankfully my new OB/GYN, Dr. Carol McKenzie, recommended that I contact Dr. Sam about a [da Vinci] robotic procedure. I was concerned that the fibroid was too big to even consider a robotic procedure so I called to check before even making the appointment. I was surprised when Dr. Sam called me back herself and assured me that she specialized in large fibroids and frequently removed them in the 800-1200 gram range. At that time I think mine was estimated at about 700 grams, so I felt that I was well within range.

Prior to my appointment, I asked around and got rave reviews about Dr. Sam and upon meeting her it was apparent that she was knowledgeable, competent and experienced, in addition to being beautiful and very patient. I felt very confident that I wanted her to do the surgery, but had previously scheduled a second appointment with a prominent surgeon who had performed this surgery on my friend just a few weeks earlier. At my consultation with him, he was adamant that the fibroid was simply too large to consider anything other than an abdominal hysterectomy. I called Dr. Sam's office to discuss it and while she couldn't guarantee that it could be done robotically, she was 80-85% sure that she could do it that way. For me, those were good enough odds and I truly believed that if anyone could do it, she was the one!

After completing a four-hour surgery earlier that morning, I was beyond impressed that Dr. Sam had the dedication, patience and stamina to spend another 4 hours in the afternoon guiding a robot to remove my uterus (including what ended up being a 1200 gram fibroid) and ovaries. It would have been so easy for her to have cut me open and said that once she got in there it was impossible to do the other way, yet she persisted. I later learned that this was her most challenging case in 3 years, yet she was determined to get it done without having to cut me open, especially after I was told that it was impossible to do my surgery robotically!

I went home the day after my surgery, and was able to get up and down the stairs without significant pain, though I moved slowly. 72 hours after my surgery, I felt well enough to go to my daughter's soccer game and accompany my husband to his holiday party later that evening. The following morning, I got up and walked around the farmer's market then went out to lunch with friends. At my one week appointment, I received permission to drive and since I felt good, I took advantage of it. I ran errands, went shopping and got my nails done. I was on the move for about four hours that day and feeling great the whole time. Although I was still feeling a little bloated and swollen, for the most part I felt amazing.

For me, this experience has underscored how important it is for people to find out about the latest treatments available, yet also to realize how critical it is to select the most competent and experienced technician. While the da Vinci robot made this possible, I have no doubt that Dr. Sam's skill and techniques are the key factors in my speedy recovery, especially after such a difficult surgery.
After years of avoiding this surgery, it is so nice to finally have it behind me.