Kerri Gibbs – da Vinci Hysterectomy and Ovary Removal Success Story
How robotic surgery helped Kerri Gibbs leave her pain behind
Kerri Gibbs had a hysterectomy using the
da Vinci Surgical System. Now, pain-free
for the first time in years, she looks forward
to many fun-filled days with her family,
including her daughter, Sarah.
After two years of trips to the emergency department (ED), Kerri Gibbs was tired.
“The pain in my abdomen was beyond compare,” she says. “My blood pressure would spike to sky-high levels, and doctors were at a loss for a sure answer to the pain.”
Gibbs was referred to a gastroenterologist who suggested a colonoscopy as a way to find the cause of her pain.
“Usually doctors don’t suggest you have one until you turn 50, but if I hadn’t said yes at 39, I might not have made it to 50,” the Frisco resident says.
Doctors found and removed a tumor that, over time, could have become cancerous. Gibbs was elated at the prospect of having her ED trips behind her, but the pain came back.
“I was desperate to find an answer, desperate to move past the pain,” Gibbs says. A primary care doctor suggested that she have an ultrasound of her ovaries, because the problem was no longer classified as gastrointestinal.
“I knew right away who I wanted my doctor to be,” she says.
Doing surgery with da Vinci
“I had gone to Dr. Norton for the past 10 years, and I trusted her more than anyone else,” Gibbs says. Carol Norton, MD, FACOG, independently practicing OB-GYN on the medical staff at Methodist Richardson Medical Center, was happy to help.
After determining that Gibbs would need a hysterectomy as well as removal of the right ovary, Dr. Norton suggested the procedure be performed with assistance from the da Vinci® Surgical System.
The system offers a minimally invasive surgical approach using robotics and advanced 3-D imaging capabilities, which allow da Vinci to detect health issues that other technologies can’t.
“I suspected that Kerri could also have endometriosis, which can be detected through da Vinci and could have been causing a significant amount of her pain,” Dr. Norton says.
The surgery went smoothly, and da Vinci confirmed Dr. Norton’s suspicion about endometriosis.
“It was a huge blessing to wake up and hear that they had removed the problem and now I could heal,” Gibbs says. “We had finally fixed my pain!”
Daily life without pain after surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System
“I spent one night in the hospital, and I was back to work within a week,” says Gibbs, with cheer and gratitude in her voice. Her biggest blessing: having her energy back.
“For the past two years, I hadn’t gone more than a few months at a time without pain,” she says. “Da Vinci allowed me to get back to my normal life. I love running and yoga, and it’s a blessing just to know I am on my way there again.”
Learn more about ways da Vinci can help you.
From the spring 2013 edition of Shine magazine.