Dr. Mani Menon?

Greetings fellow PCers!

Great forum.  Thanks in advance to everyone who's posted in the recent past as you've made for some interesting reading for this newbie.

My first post asked about docs in W. Michigan for robotic surgery.  I got a couple of recommendations for Dr. Menon on the other side of the state.

So, calling all Dr. Menon patients!  Would you be so kind to chime in with your experience with Dr. Menon, good or bad.  Especially where you're at in your post surgery journey and current outcomes.

Detroit is about 3 hrs away on good roads, any concerns about traveling so far for surgery, then traveling back home after discharge?

Did he accept your insurance for the whole procedure?

Checking out his website now, but thought I'd ask the brotherhood about their experience before calling his office.

Please refrain from posting about Brachy on this thread.  I'll make a separate post requesting Brachy input.  Thanks!

Forgot to post my signature with data. See if this reply does it.

Steve,
I didn't use Dr. Menon but my surgery was also 3 hours away from home. My wife and I stayed at a hotel across from the hospital. We arrived the day before and stayed until 1 day after the cath was removed (1 week later). My doctor wanted me close, just in case I had any problems with the catheter. As it turned out, it was a good choice. I had no distractions, I could rest, walk when I needed to and it felt more like a relaxing vacation than recovering from a major surgery. We had a hotel room with a kitchen so we could eat in every day. I brought books and a portable DVD player with movies.
I highly recommend it when having a RP surgery more than 1 hour from home.

Good luck

Bill

I originally wanted Dr. Menon as my surgeon and clearly he is one of the best. As I zeroed in on Henry Ford's Vattikuti Urology Institute I ended up going with Dr. Hans Stricker, who is also a part of that practice. He is not as high profile publicly but is very highly regarded in the field. In fact one person suggested Dr. Stricker should be my first choice over anyone else.

As it happened, my surgery was at the West Bloomfield hospital location. If you have a choice I recommend it. It was like a nice hotel.

As for outcomes, I'm two years out now with PSA <0.1, ED not an issue, and I never had any incontinence. And I wasn't even a candidate for their "Veil of Aphrodite" nerve sparing procedure because my biopsy suggested the cancer was at least at the capsule edge.

As of two years ago Henry Ford had a comprehensive follow-up program including a class and counseling on penile rehab. I attended the class but didn't have much need for the rehab.

I'm surprised the supra-pubic catheter preferred at Henry Ford isn't discussed more. It worked great for me and I hear so many complaints about the traditional catheter. I would think that either a lot more doctors would start using the supra-pubic, or for some reason Henry Ford would have to stop using it. I don't understand why one practice would do something so different (apparently with great success) but others don't follow along.

So bottom line is I highly recommend Henry Ford and their whole team. I'm sure Dr. Menon is great, but if you have a chance with Dr. Stricker I would highly recommend him too.

Hello. Yes, after doing a ton of research, I elected to have Dr. Menon do my surgery. I was pleased in every way. The SP catheter was clearly much better than the usual Foley. Incidentally, removal was completely painless.

I can only echo what Sonny said. I live 3 hours away, but we stayed at their apartments on campus (about 300 feet from the entrance). We figured we should stay there in case there was an emergency. Fortunately, my recovery was quick and uneventful. They were very caring and my treatment was top-notch in every way.

Unfortunately, like Sonny, the surgery failed to cure the cancer. There are no guarantees.

You can't go wrong with Menon. Also, many of the top surgeons trained under Menon. He has done a load of RP's.

Incidentally, when I visited Dr. Menon to consult with him, I got to meet his whole team. They took a LOT of time explaining all aspects of what to expect.

Mel

Donald:

That's great. Be sure to let us know how it goes. At about the same time I read about Menon, I got information from Sonny on this group and another person on another support group.

HW can be so valuable in so many ways

Mel

I had surgery with Dr. Menon about seven weeks ago, so I can only give you short-term feedback, but hopefully, it will be helpful.

As for the travel, I drove up from Georgia - about a 12 hour drive. Yes, it was well worth it. I'd do it again without hesitation. We did stay at the apartments on the main hospital campus for 8 or 9 days, though like MoreData, I had my surgery at the West Bloomfield location. I would highly recommend using West Bloomfield because it offers a higher degree of comfort for you and you family in my opinion.

Insurance was not a problem. There is a member of his team to handle that for you... In fact, there's a member of his team to handle pretty much everything for you both medically and administratively. If you haven't already done so, give them a call. You'll talk to a real live person that will walk you through every step of the process (Thanks, Arleeta).

I still have a long road ahead, but I'm extremely happy that I had Dr. Menon.

If you have any specific questions, let me know and I'll be glad to answer them based upon my experience.

Donald:

Feel free to email me with any questions.

My experience was excellent. See my responses earlier in this thread

Mel

DonaldJ - I stayed in West Bloomfield 2 days. I probably could have left after one day, but the facility was just too nice to leave. Take a look as this slideshow of the West Bloomfield location at http://www.henryfordwestbloomfield.com/augmentedReality/wb_tour/virtualtour/hfwb.html It's impressive!

The best advice that I can give you is to not hesitate to bug Arleeta with any questions and concerns that you have, no matter how trivial or dumb you think they are. She's used to it, I broke her in for you. Seriously, she either knows every answer, or knows where to find the answer for you.

I would suggest that you make a list of questions that you plan to ask. It's easy to forget things with all that will be going on during your visit.

You will meet several members of Dr. Menon's team. Be sure to get their cards for future reference. You will meet a lot of great people that you will see again if you choose to have your surgery there.

I wasn't cured at all.

I have no regrets about my decision.

Mel

Hey DJ,

Like Mel and Sonny, we weren't cured, but had an outstanding experience at Henry Ford. No regrets..
Dr. Peabody was our surgeon, based on a reference from a Dr. friend (G6) who was cured.
We have Cigna and everything was covered and easy. Supra-pubic is the way to go (literally! ha-ha)
I don't know the 5 digit code. Arleeta is a gem as well as the rest of the staff. Sex class was a blast.

mswampuscat (and mr.)

Heard back from Arleeta, got the code and called my insurance. Looks like all should be good as long as they get an authorization form before any surgery. Steve, I will email you.

Regarding the sp Catheter or the foley, it was my impression that the foley was to keep scare tissue from closing up the urethra causing a (bnc) bladder neck stricture where the connection was made. I may be wrong but SP is directly in the bladder and how does it protect the urethra.