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Any Experience with Penn Presbyterian Med Center?

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Prostate Cancer
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Posted 4/2/2010 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
I'm still researching what to do for primary treatment, but I'm leaning towards robotic assisted surgery. My next consult is with Dr. David Lee at Penn Presbyterian Med Center in Philly. I think I recall seeing some posts from some people who had surgery there and was wondering if there were any insights I could get and how their experience was.

Bill

Posted 4/2/2010 2:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill..........I'm one of those guys. Burlcodad & Positional are two others that I know of on this forum who had surgery with Lee at HUP. You can look at my signature and see where I am stat-wise. Lee is very personable and will take his time with any/all questions. His skill level is exceptional with the Robot. I'm extrememly pleased with my outcome. My care at Presbyterian Med. Ctr. was top-notch. He was not the only surgeon or other treatment specialist I consulted, but in the end, I felt he was the best guy for the job. I don't know if you have checked out other opinions with other forms of treatment, but you should. If you have, and are still convinced that Robotic surgery is the way to go, you're in great hands with Lee. If you have any specific questions, fire away, and we will try to answer. Keep us posted.

 

Arnie in DE

Posted 4/2/2010 4:02 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill

As Arnie said, Dr Lee did my surgery about 10 weeks ago.  I was very pleased with him and the care I received  at Penn Presbyterian.  I also looked at Thomas Jefferson and Fox Chase but in the end went with Dr Lee because of his reputation, experience and gut feeling after meeting him.  The operation was truly painless for me and the recovery was unbelievably quick. I was out of the hospital within 20 hours of the completion of the operation and the catheter was out in six days.   I was back to work (desk job) in two weeks. I experienced the usual incontinence and ED side effects but the incontinence is just about gone and the ED is making strides.   Most importantly I got a really good post op pathology report. 

There are many options available to someone your age. You need to decide what is best for you.  I started out wanting anything but surgery but in the end after several second opinions and a lot of reading decided that surgery was best for me.  I felt overwhelmed when trying to decide but felt a sense of calm when I reached a decesion. 

Good luck. Please feel free to email me with any questions.

Ray

Posted 4/2/2010 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks to both of you for the feedback. I'm still reading about other options, mainly brachytherapy, but I'm not sure I want a treatment that might limit future options. The surgery seems like it still leaves radiation as a follow-up, if necessary.

I'm glad to hear of the positive results regarding the PSA levels. That's my main concern. I'm of course also concerned about the side effects of surgery since those seem to last longer than with other forms of treatment.

Are you both finding the length of recovery from incontinence and ED to be similar to others?

Bill

Posted 4/3/2010 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
Im not sure  how my recovery compares to others but I will say I am well ahead of where I thought I would be at ten weeks. 

Im down to leaks and squirts with one or no pads depending upon the day's activities.  I am also seeing good progress on the ED front as well.

Good luck with your research and thought process.  There are a lot of extremely kind and generous folks that have helped me tremendously.  Please dont hesitate to ask questions here or feel free to email me if you like. 

Ray

 

Posted 4/3/2010 2:40 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Bill...........recovery on incontinence and ED fronts are individual things and can vary due to so many factors. My incontinence cleared up faster than I anticipated, and although I let go of pads at 3 months, I could have a little earlier. ED is coming along and is not linear in improvement. But it is gradually improving, and I guess I'm blessed with some patience, so I continue with pills and pump and hope for a return to as close as before as I can get. BTW, where are you from? Obviously, within striking distance of Philly in the mid-atlantic region.----Take care, Arnie

Posted 4/3/2010 3:12 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Bill,

I have to join Ray & Arnie in praising Dr. Lee for his efforts.

He's very experienced and takes extra steps which, in my opinion, is a sign of an experienced and caring doctor. You can see from my signature that I have an extracapsular extension. Dr . Lee assured me he cut more tissue around the prostate during surgery just for a possibility of the case like mine.    

Initially, I was going to perform HIFU procedure, but, since my prostate had too much calcium, there was a danger ultrasound wouldn't be ablt to get through to the cancerous cells. I ended up with surgery and, so far, don't have ant regrets. 

I'm two months after surgery and, except for ED, everything is pretty much back to normal.

Take care,

Mark

 

Posted 4/5/2010 9:27 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks to all of you again for the assurances about Dr. Lee. I can't get my consult with him until the end of the month, but I guess that's still not too far out. I see the Radiation Oncologist tomorrow, the Medical Oncologist next Thu, and I have an additional consult with a Dr. Schaeffer at Johns Hopkins just to get another opinion from someone at another facility.

Arnie,

I live in Westampton, right near Mt. Holly.

Bill

Posted 4/6/2010 12:12 AM (GMT 0)

Good for you, Bill..........I too consulted a medical oncologist, just for a "center field" point of view. Also saw brachytherapist and another robotic surgeon in Philly before deciding on Lee. Gather all the info and opinions, bounce it off of us here at HW, and then make the decision that's right for you.

Arnie

Posted 4/6/2010 4:26 PM (GMT 0)
Small world Bill - I live in Lumberton

Posted 4/8/2010 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
My wife and I met Dr. Lee today. He gave us a very good impression and confidence in my decision to go with him for the surgery. Soooo, I'm scheduled for 19 May. He could have done it sooner, but I really want to attend my son's graduation from Rider (without having any post-op issues). At least, my son had better be graduating from Rider this May!

All your feedback helped too. Thanks again.

Bill

Posted 4/8/2010 9:53 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck Bill

There is a preop class run once a month.  I did not attend due to the scheduling of my surgery but I know Mark did and found it useful.

Good luck with the graduation - I graduated from Rider manyyyyyyyyyyy years ago

Ray

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