2,687 Miles Isn’t Too Far to Travel for the Best Gynecologic Surgery

Relocating to another state can be exciting with lots of new places to explore. It can also be uncertain, especially if you have a health issue and are not familiar with the resources in the area. That was the case for Minal Patel, MD, a grandmother of four and a retired pathologist who practiced at Elyria Memorial Hospital in Elyria, Ohio. She moved from there to Calabasas, California, to be closer to her daughters.

When Dr. Patel’s gynecologist at UCLA Health received uncertain results from her routine pelvic exam, she ordered a sonogram. The test showed a mass in the left ovary. Facing surgery, Dr. Patel was at a loss. She was new to the Los Angeles community and didn’t know any of the surgeons. So, she turned to her niece, Bindi Patel, MD, a primary care physician, and her husband, Nainesh Patel, MD, an interventional cardiologist, who both practice at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN).

Not yet knowing whether Dr. Patel’s tumor was cancerous, the younger Patels recommended she consult with M. Bijoy Thomas, MD, chief of gynecologic oncology with Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute. After a phone conversation with Dr. Thomas, Dr. Patel came away feeling confident about his expertise and compassion – even though he was more than 2,000 miles away in Pennsylvania. “My health is a priority, so I decided I would go (to LVHN) where I know people and know I can trust the recommendation they give me,” she says.  

Dr. Thomas recommended a robotic-assisted laparoscopic total hysterectomy with removal of both the ovaries for Dr. Patel. Furthermore, he recommended robotic surgery using the newest da Vinci 5 housed at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest.

Lehigh Valley Surgical Institute of Excellence is one of the premier robotic centers in the nation. The Surgical Institute has a fleet of 18 robots including two recent additions of state-of-the-art da Vinci 5 robots.

The robotic approach to surgery allows the surgeon to visualize structures in 3D and magnified 10 times. The robotic instruments have better articulation than the human wrist, which results in minimal tissue damage and blood loss. Postoperative pain is minimal, and recovery is much faster after robotic surgery compared to traditional surgery.

“The upgraded da Vinci 5 robot has a thousand times better computational skills then other robotic platforms,” Dr. Thomas says. “Plus, it has a better energy system and gives surgeons a super high-definition visual of tissue structures.”

Dr. Patel’s surgery took only 45 minutes and was uneventful with minimal blood loss according to Dr. Thomas. When Dr. Patel awoke in recovery, she remembered nothing from the operating room. “I was not in much pain and was able to walk to the bathroom,” she says. “I felt relieved that everything went so smoothly and in such a short time.” Fortunately, her tumor turned out to be noncancerous.

Dr. Patel, who has been doing yoga for more than 25 years and walks 5 miles every day, was glad to be able to continue doing the things she likes to do. She had the surgery at 7:30 a.m. and was back to her sister’s home at 11 a.m. “I took Tylenol for a few days and that was it,” she says. “I started walking again the next day.”

Impressed when she looks back at the experience, Dr. Patel appreciated the excellent communication throughout the process and how well organized everything was. She calls the care from Dr. Thomas and the whole practice staff “amazing.” Dr. Thomas commends his entire staff for the excellent patient experience.  

“We were able to get the patient in within a matter of one week. We did the surgery three days after we originally saw her. She spent two days recovering and then she was back on a plane to LA,” Dr. Thomas says. “I call that ‘travel medicine’ of the best kind.”