"I am very satisified and pleased with Dr. Schanne and his staff. To this day my results regarding my cancer cells in my bladder have been excellent and seem to be improving with each treatment that I receive. I am looking forward to continuing under Dr. Schanne's care and I know that my well-being is of his upmost concern. Thank you!
Dr. Schanne, I am writing you this letter to thank you and both your office and surgical staff at the Urologic Surgical Associates of Delaware for the outstanding care I received during my recent ordeal. I came there with a very delicate and highly embarrassing situation. I was treated with nothing but kindness, dignity and most of all respect. I would not wish what I went through on anyone, but if so, I would most definitely recommend your organization to anyone with the same or similar problems. With my sincerest thanks!
Jame's Story
I was referred to Dr. Schanne by our family physician, Dr. Altschular, when I awoke one morning and could not pass urine. Most people have a history of problems with a gradual slowing, but when I couldn't pass urine, it came out of the blue.
Dr. Schanne prescribed medicine which alleviated the problem but he recommended a biopsy which, when performed, showed cancer. Dr. Schanne recommended removal of my prostate, which was enlarged, using the da Vinci. He presented my wife and me with all of the alternatives and discussed each one giving us the pros and cons of each. Because my prostate was enlarged, radiation was not practical so the decision was surgery or watchful waiting. Dr. Schanne did not recommend watchful waiting given that my health was such that I was a good candidate for surgery. The question then was which surgery.
I read Dr. Walsh's book as well as many others, in addition to all the information available online on the different surgical alternatives. While at the time, the da Vinci was not in favor within the medical establishment, I was able to view a prostate surgery on line using the da Vinci and that, combined with our confidence in Dr. Schanne made our decision easy. We have never regretted that decision and have recommended Dr. Schanne to a number of men diagnosed with prostate cancer and they have all thanked us for the referral.
To put my condition in perspective, I had a post biopsy Gleason score of 6 and post operation score of 5. My PSA when I encountered the problem of not being able to pass urine was 4.5. The operation was performed in the late morning and I went home the next day. I worked at home for a few days till the catheter was removed and then went back to work on a part time basis. After a month, I was back full time. It took five months for me to be totally dry but only two months till I used 1 pad per day. My sex function returned after 9 months. Thanking God each day, I remain disease-free.
[READ JAME'S FULL STORY]
Ed's Story
Dr Schanne used da Vinci Surgical System for my Kidney Cancer - Success!
I am 47 yrs old. In January 2010, my primary care Dr. told me to get an ultrasound to see if my liver was OK because I had a high level of liver enzymes in my blood work. So, I went on January 15th and had the test done.
The good news is that my liver is 100% fine. However, the results came back that I had a left renal mass. It measure 1.9 by 2.2 by 2.1 centimeters along the mid pole of the left kidney. It said that a renal cell carcinoma would need to be excluded therefore a surgical referral to Urology was recommended. It was not until the month of June that I had a discussion with my Primary care doc about the test results.
The reason for the delay is that I did not take the results seriously because my liver was fine and I did not want more tests. However my primary insisted that this is serious and told me to call for the 1st available appt with the Urologic Surgical Associates of Delaware. My primary recommended this group because they are considered Top Docs and also perform the Robotic[-assisted] surgery. My Uncle is the Chief of Surgery at Christiana Hospital, & also recommended this group. Once I called, the office staff set me up with the first available appointment with Dr. Schanne July 8th. That morning, my wife and I only had to wait in the waiting room for approximately 15 minutes which gave us time to read the Top Docs magazine.
Once we were brought back to the exam room, we met Dr. Schanne, and he reviewed the ultrasound with us. He pointed out the mass on the kidney and stated that we would not know if it was cancerous until after the surgery. He also was not sure whether or not he had to take out the entire kidney or just partial. Because I wanted to be operated on at Christiana, I waited until August 19th which was just fine because I still wanted to enjoy most of my summer on our boat. So, on Thursday Aug 19th, we arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am. Surgery was performed at approximately 8:00 am and it lasted about 4 hours. Dr. Schanne performed a partial nephrectomy using the da Vinci Robotic machine. Robotic partial nephrectomy is a pure laparoscopic (only 5-6 keyhole ports) surgery using a robotic surgical platform (the da Vinci robot from Intuitive Surgical) to perform partial nephrectomy.
The highly magnified, binocular vision system and the highly dexterous instrumentation allow the surgeon to achieve complete vascular control and excellent reconstructive results without the need for an incision. Using this surgical system, the major blood vessels can be temporarily clamped, the tumor excised and the kidney sewn back together with minimal blood loss. The end result is an excellent cancer cure with a much easier recovery for me and virtually no loss of renal function.
Afterwards, Dr. Schanne called for my wife and he calmly reassured her that the surgery went extremely well and that the mass was relatively small and that he was able to remove all of it. My kidneys are still intact and both are functioning. He told her that he would be sending the specimen to the lab for the results but not to worry.
I was put into a recovery room which lasted another couple of hours until I woke up from the anesthesia. The anesthesia doctor is also 5 stars! As they were bringing me up to my room, I saw my wife & daughter and they met me there. By Thursday afternoon, I was able to communicate on my Blackberry and answering work related emails.
At midnight on Thursday night, it was time to take out the catheter. They gave me some medicine at that time and also at 3:00 am. By Friday morning, I was off all medicine and going to the bathroom on my own. Then, they had me walking around the nurse's station by late morning. Early Friday afternoon, I asked what it would take for me to be allowed to go home. The nurses said that I needed be off of all IV medicine (which I already was) as well as have a bowel movement. By 2 pm, this too took place and all I needed after that was a doctor's signature.
Throughout the day, I continued to work through my Blackberry while I waited for the doctor's response. By 3 pm, we received the clearance to go home and we were out of the hospital by 4 pm. The fact that I could leave the hospital 1 day after surgery I found to be truly amazing. Friday night, I watched TV and only needed to take 1 Vicodin. Now, comes the rough part and what I felt was the most painful part of the process. During the weekend, my body was still adjusting to coming off of the anesthesia. I had terrible gas cramps in my stomach for the next 2 days. The only way to deal with them was to stay in bed and lay on my side. I did not sleep at all on Friday night and not much on Saturday night. By Sunday, I was feeling much better and was able to come downstairs to watch TV. By Monday, I was back to work 100%!
My follow up appointment with Dr .Schanne was 1 month afterwards. It was very brief and full of good news. It is recommended that I have a CAT scan every 6 months for 2 years and then each year after that. That way, if there is a reoccurrence, it will be caught rather quickly. Last December, my wife and I had a great time at a medical fair at the Christiana mall where Dr. Schanne allowed me to operate the Robot. If you ever get the opportunity to do this, I would suggest you go for it.
Today, I am healthy and living life to the fullest. I enjoy officiating competitive (travel) and high school soccer as well as enjoying our boat during the summer.
I have recommended Dr Schanne and his staff to all of my friends and family and to this day cannot believe what a nice experience this entire process was. The recovery time is truly amazing and I would be happy to share my experience with any future patients who would like to give me a call. I have never felt the need to worry about anything because I have always felt that I was in good hands!
Thank you Dr. Schanne!
[READ ED'S FULL STORY]
