 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Prostate Cancer / May 2005Anyone Had The Robotic Assisted Surgery At Henry Ford In Detroit?
I've opted for robotic assisted prostatectomy (RAB) at the Vattikuti Urology Institute, Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. I've talked with Dr Mani Menon and, after reviewing my personal and medical records, he thinks I'm a good candidate for the procedure. I've been impressed by the contacts I've had with them - very professional and prompt return of telephone calls, e-mail & faxes. What's the general opinion of this group re Dr Manon, Vattikuti and/or Henry Ford as they relate to RAB? If anyone has first-hand knowledge (been a patient of Dr Menon or had RAP done at Vattikuti); I'd really like to hear their experience. I feel pretty good about going there, but I guess I'm looking for some more information (positive or negative) before I make the appointment. Thanks I've heard excellent things about the procedure and the hospital. Don't recall if the doc was named.  SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05 PSA .07 .05 .06 .05 non Illegitimi carborundum > I've opted for robotic assisted prostatectomy (RAB) at the Vattikuti Urology > Institute, Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. I've talked with Dr Mani Menon and, [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Thanks DLKR, The hospital I went to has a fund to have an out of town big shot guest lecturer in Urology come once a year. The urologists decide who they want to hear. This year it was Dr.Menon. The local urologists and urology residents all came to it. He has the most DaVinci Robot experience in the US, maybe the world. Something huge like 1600 cases. He developed a new twist on the procedure where he tries to preserve more nerve tissue, that he has referred to as "the veil of Aphrodite" that he thinks gives better results on impotence. He was on my short list of surgeons when I was shopping. I don't think you can go wrong with him. Steve U > DLKR, > The hospital I went to has a fund to have an out of town big shot guest [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > with him. > Steve U Steve U, Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my question. When I was surfing for information on surgical options, Dr Menon's name and the work being done at Henry Ford was mentioned a lot. While all that sounded good, I haven't been able to find much in the way of patient feed-back or experience on any of the forums or newsgroups. A friend of a relative had RAP done at Henry Ford (don't know if Dr Menon was the surgeon) and I got positive feed back from him. Your information is certainly a vote of confidence and helps make me feel like this will be a good choice. Thanks again I am almost 6 weeks from the Operation you mentioned Robotic at Ford Hosp with Dr. Menon. Compassion abounds with this Vattikuti organization. One would be hard pressed to find each individual so Kind and explanatory to all the needs you want asked. I am 69 Psa 16.3 Gleason 7 3+4 and off the catheter and into depends. Extremely leaky, but some improvement-It has been a short time. People from all over the world are coming to this Hospital for conferences and the surgical procedure. I had 5 slits and they are all healed. They stated they felt as though they got it all-removing the Prostate and some lymph nodes.( Standard procedure) I am mowing the grass - walking a mile each day and going past my limits at times-( the ache tells me when to stop.) I have the option of RT too in the event it is not all gone. BUT Others will vouch for their procedure too, and they have worked. I only hope others can come to your aid on the RRLRP procedure for you. I hate to expound furthur, because it sounds like a commercial. I think He's done over 1700 of these now-More than anyone in the world.. He actually still performs the removal himself with some assistants who themselves have over 300 of the operations they have performed. Good Luck and Keep the strong Faith. Arfey >I am almost 6 weeks from the Operation you mentioned Robotic at Ford Hosp > with Dr. Menon. Compassion abounds with this Vattikuti organization. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Good Luck and Keep the strong Faith. > Arfey Arfy. Wow, thanks for the reply! I really appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions. I've had a few telephone conversations with several people from Vattikuti - including one with Dr Menon -and I've sort of been blown away by their response. Everyone there has been extremely knowledgeable and helpful - almost sounded to good to be true, so your experience is extremely helpful to me. Dr Menon wants to wait until ~6 weeks after my biopsy (had it the first part of May) before he does the surgery; so I'm looking at soon after the third week in June. If you don't mind answering some more questions: 1. I'll be traveling from out of state for the operation and am thinking of staying in Dearborn until the catheter is removed (a week ?). I discussed this with Vattikuti and they said they have a working relationship with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel which is near to Vattikuti. The Ritz has a package deal available for Vattikuti patients and the details are being mailed to me. By any chance did you opt for this plan? If you did I'd love to hear your experience. 2. How long after the surgery was your catheter removed? It seems to vary somewhat and depends a lot on individual circumstances; but about 5-7 days after RAP seems typical.. 3. At my age (70), I'm more concerned about permanent incontinence than erectile dysfunction. I've been experiencing some ED over the last few years as it is and have come to accept that. I was surprised to read that you're "extremely leaky" after 6 weeks. Do you know if that's "normal" or "typical"? Again, I suppose the degree of incontinence, recovery time, etc. probably also depends on each individual's circumstances. Again thanks so much for the answer. DLKR, Incontinence is the leading depressor of the average post-surgical PCa patient. It is not a matter of the leak not being fixed. It just seems it is never fixed within a time-frame acceptable to the patient. For instance, while I cannot say I was disappointed when my catheter was pulled out, I was kind of hoping that I was going to be one of those miracle-kegeled men who was able to hold it right from catheter birth. It took me six weeks to get out of Depends and I was extremely upset the last two. It took me six months to get off of pads and by the 4th, I was sure that I was shot for life. One day, I realized my pad was dry and probably several before had been. Almost everyone suffers from incontinence and almost everybody finds that it is a problem for only a finite time. SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05 PSA .07 .05 .06 .05 non Illegitimi carborundum > >I am almost 6 weeks from the Operation you mentioned Robotic at Ford Hosp > > with Dr. Menon. Compassion abounds with this Vattikuti organization. [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > Again thanks so much for the answer. Steve, Thanks for the reply. I'm not liking what I'm reading here and at other forums re incontinence following prostate surgery. The "typical" experience seems to be that it takes months (instead of weeks) to get over incontinence following surgery. That's not what I was hoping to hear. Based on the first hand experiences of others, I guess I'd better adjust my expectations and get used to the idea that I'm likely to be wearing diapers and/or pads for 4 -6 months. > DLKR, > [quoted text clipped - 86 lines] >> >> Again thanks so much for the answer. > I'm not liking what I'm reading here and at other forums re incontinence > following prostate surgery. The "typical" experience seems to be that it > takes months (instead of weeks) to get over incontinence following > surgery. That's not what I was hoping to hear. > Based on the first hand experiences of others, I guess I'd better adjust > my expectations and get used to the idea that I'm likely to be wearing > diapers and/or pads for 4 -6 months. I had robotic three weeks ago and I am one of the very fortunate men who was able to "hold it" from the moment the catheter was removed to today (with a few drips and dribbles now and then when I yawn or laugh - stress incontinence). My advice is - be prepared, as I was, to have the catheter removed and find that you can't hold the urine back. Then if it is the case that you're fortunate enough to not have a problem, then be grateful! So, as you say, "get used to the idea" that you are "likely" to be wearing diapers and/or pads for a while, but maybe you won't have to and you celebrate! There is some element of surgical skill in some cases of continence. The surgeon has to use their skill, intuition and experience to decide how close to the prostate to cut through the urethra. The dilemma is - cut too close to the prostate and you may have better continence, but you may also leave some cancer cells. Cut too much of the urethra and muscle tissue at the apex and you are more likely to remove cancer cells, but then you increase the risk of incontinence. It is my understanding that there is a tension there and in some patients it's an easy call because our anatomy is different in every one of us. My surgeon said that in my case there was plenty of urethra between the apex of the prostate and the muscle sphincter and he was able to get all the prostate tissue cut out and leave me with plenty of urethra and muscle sphincter. I hope he was right and he didn't leave any cancer. The pathology report after surgery indicated that to be the case. But, another way to look at this is, if incontinence is the price you pay for cutting out all the cancer then you have to decide if it was worth it or not. However, in studies that I've read incontinence is the number one quality of life issue in the long run for men who have prostate cancer. It even beats out sex in the long run. Many men can forego sex if they have to, but being incontinent over time can be depressing. OCL OCL - can you remind me where you got your RLRP, please? SignaturePeter Headland > OCL - can you remind me where you got your RLRP, please? Peter: Sure. Got it April 28 in Portland, Oregon at St. Vincent Medical Center. Dr. Brian Shaffer. Had considered both Henry Ford and Cleveland Clinic and had talked with the surgeon from Cleveland Clinic, but decided after interviewing four local urologists to give Shaffer the privilege of cutting me open :-) He has only done about 50 RLRP's and my minimum was 50 and I would have preferred someone who had done a few hundred, but he is also board certified in urological reconstruction and I figured that was a bonus. Plus at my age, 52, excellent overall health, no prior ED problems or continence problems, I wanted to be able to get home quickly and recover in a familiar place. So I opted for local. OCL 'Tis true, DL. You will not find equivocating here. Nothing but facts. Adjusting your expectations, in the long run, will benefit you significantly. SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05 PSA .07 .05 .06 .05 non Illegitimi carborundum > Steve, > Thanks for the reply. [quoted text clipped - 96 lines] > >> > >> Again thanks so much for the answer. Glad to hear I'm not alone--Thanks for the reply to DLKR Steve. Arfey O.K. DLKR sorry to get back to you so late. I've been assisting in Helping My son moving from his sold home to another. My Wife and I opted to stay at the apartments just back of the Hospital 45.00 per day, and withing walking distance ( about 1 football field) from the Hospital and Cafateria) Its great for the wife since she doesn't have to leave the area, and it is quite safe. You might think of having the catheter removed at the Hospital, and reducing the wait from 2 weeks ( suggested if you leave) to 1 week. A friend of mine Just had his RRLRP there a little over a week ago and will be heading home tomorrow. ( With His catheter out.) he states to me he is almost totally continent !!!! His age is 62. I believe the muscles get accustomed to the tube from the penis, and waiting a week longer could have an effect on the time of Kegal exercises taking over since the Uretha becomes to the larger tube. ( Just my opinion) I wish I would have waited unstead of coming home--Not sure it would have made any difference, but who knows. I'm into 8 pads per day even now after 2 weeks of removal. I can see a bit of a change in the continence, and can hold it when I lie down and get up 2 times or more to the bathroom. They say us older folks have a bit of a longer time in receivering continence wise-I think it might be the condition one is in prior to the operation. I thought I was in great health. No heart problems-No prescriped medicine, and Played on a softball team in Florida up to 1 week before the operation. So-Go figure.. So you're age 70 ?? We old farts hang in there don't we ? Call Arleeta and ask for the apartments. Its so close and handy for all. Arfey > O.K. DLKR sorry to get back to you so late. I've been assisting in > Helping My son moving from his sold home to another. [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > all. > Arfey arfey, Thanks for the reply. Since I made that posting, I've had a couple of telephone conversations with Arleeta and Elizabeth and got some more information from them. I also made another post asking for advice, opinions experiences, etc. asking "which would be biggest PITA, traveling with a catheter or diapers?". I got some good feed-back from both posts and I have pretty much decided to do just what you suggest; i.e. staying at the "apartments" in back of the hospital for a week until the catheter is removed and then fly home (probably in a diaper). I hadn't heard of your theory that leaving the catheter in for more than a week may increase short-term incontinence after catheter removal and may delay recovery. It sort of makes sense that's there's a "best time" for catheter removal. I suppose it's somewhat different in each case and the trick is getting the timing right. I called Irene this afternoon to schedule the RLRP, but she was out today, so left I a message for her to call me. Your reply was very timely and I especially appreciate your relating your first-hand experience. It makes me feel confident that I'm making the best choice by staying there the extra week Thanks again. Great to hear from you, Kieth. I hope things continue to go well for you. Please let us know. SignaturePSA 16 10/17/2000 @ 46 Biopsy 11/01/2000 G7 (3+4), T2c RRP 12/15/2000 G7 (3+4), T3cN0M0 Neg margins PSA .1 .1 .1 .27 .37 .75 EBRT 05-07/2002 @ 47 PSA .34 .22 .15 .21 .32 Lupron 07/03 (1 mo) 8/03 (4 mo), 12/03, 4/04, 09/04, 01/05 PSA .07 .05 .06 .05 non Illegitimi carborundum > I am almost 6 weeks from the Operation you mentioned Robotic at Ford Hosp > with Dr. Menon. Compassion abounds with this Vattikuti organization. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > Good Luck and Keep the strong Faith. > Arfey Hi Steve--Attitude is Up ( hope the rest follows through ha!) Strength is on the increase--and the desire to do more is increasing. Right now the incontinence is in the " Follow the wet brick road" mode. I don't think the tin man or Scarecrow had these problems. But what the heck--I think I'm back in Kansas and there's "no place like home." Keith Hi DLKR, I'm the one arfey is referring to, as I came back from Henry Ford yesterday. They are OUTSTANDING!!! I had my surgery (2 hours) on the 16th and cat out on 23, and was immediately dry. Occasionally if I cough or laugh hard, I'll loose a drop or two. Dr. Meno has done about 2000 LRP's of which 1200 were robotic. I remember being wheeled into the OR, seeing the huge robot, then waking up in my room. The first few days the only pain I had was getting in & out of bed when I bent at the waist. I stayed at the apartments for 11 days ($45/ per nite- 3 bedrooms, 6 beds, kitchen microwave & fridge. TV reception wasn't great, otherwise it was excellent. The hospital cafeteria is outstanding! Everything you could want and very reasonable. Ford makes all the arrangements. Here is what amazed me and is almost unbelievable of a surgeon: While I was in recovery, Dr. Meno met with my wife and family to explain the results. He then asked them if they wanted to go down to the chapel and pray with him! They were floored, and did pray with him. How many other Dr's would do that? The only downside was the lack of nurses helping after recovery, but you are in less than 24 hours. They are very well organazed and have a great sense of humor (I am known as Columbo as I asked so many questions that Dr. Meno said to get me a wrinkled rain coat) You can't go wrong with them. Good luck and will keep you all in my prayers. Bill > Hi DLKR, > I'm the one arfey is referring to, as I came back from Henry Ford [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > prayers. > Bill Bill, Thanks so much for your reply. I've been on the phone with the Vattikuti/Henry Ford team for the last week or so and this afternoon we set a date for RLRP (or VIP as they call it) at Henry Ford for Thursday, June 30. I wanted to go ASAP, but Dr Menon wants to wait 6-8 weeks after my biopsy (done May 6). Thanks for the information about the apartments. I also reserved an apartment for 11 days and plan to fly home on the ninth day after the surgery. As for the poor TV reception, I'm not a big TV watcher anyway. I plan to catch up on my reading while recuperating. I was planning to eat most of my meals at the cafeteria; but wasn't expecting too much (after all it is a hospital cafeteria), so your comments regarding their food is a nice surprise. Based on a lot of e-mails, faxes and telephone conversations, I've developed a really good feeling about the Henry Ford VIP team. Your and arfey's first hand experiences there adds a lot of weight to my impression and gives me confidence that I've made a good decision. It's very reassuring to hear about your experience and thoughts and thanks so much for sharing them. What is the waiting time from first contacting Vattikuti to getting the op? SignaturePeter Headland |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.