Story Published:
May 25, 2009 at 7:55 PM CST
Story Updated:
Jun 29, 2009 at 7:47 AM CST
Ms. Ann Anderson is the very first robotic surgical patient who has had an operation on her kidney.
She went home one day after her operation.
Patient-Ann Anderson explains, "Yes, I am. I’m just so proud. I owe Dr. Cancel my life for saving my kidney.
Dr. Quinton Cancel of Upper Cumberland Urology Associates performed the surgical procedure on Ms. Anderson’s kidney using the daVinci Robot.
Responding to the question, "When Dr. Cancel told you that a robot was going to be operating on you , what did you think at first?"
Ms. Anderson replied, “I didn’t know what to think because it’s all new to me but I just trusted my life in his hands. I told him my life is in your hands and I believe you’ll do your very best and he has."
Of the operation, Dr. Cancel explained, "Ms. Anderson was a woman who presented to my clinic with an eight year history of back pain on her right side and she tried various things from massages to home remedies to alcohol rubs."
It was found that Ms. Anderson’s pain was caused by a blockage in a tube leading from her kidney to her bladder.
We elected to do a dismembered pyeloplasty with robotic assistance and it’s a laproscopic procedure.
During the procedure the blockage was removed and the healthy part of the tube was connected back to the kidney.
So essentially what we did was to go laropscopically with robot assistance and we cut out this segment here of bad ureter that was narrowed.
Ms. Anderson just had 5 tiny centimeter incisions instead of a large incision in her side.
The advantages are smaller incisions, less blood loss, less post-operative pain, quicker recovery time
After years of no energy and chronic pain Ms. Anderson says just 24 hours after surgery she already feels better. And is looking forward to getting back to normal.
