Meet the Surgeon
The Monday we returned from Spring Thaw I called my doctor's office and let him know I'd made a decision on treatment. He said he'd speak with him the next day to see if he could fit me into his schedule. Within a few days, Dr. Lowe's assistant called me to schedule a meeting on June 1st. That Monday we headed up to Portland for our meeting.
Dr. Lowe seemed a very nice man. He went over the procedure in some detail. We'd be doing "robotic laproscopic surgery". The robot, called a DaVinci is operated by the surgeon at a remote console. They would make 5 small incisions into my abdomen that would allow for the insertion of a drain, camera and the robotic arms. According to the Johns Hopkins website, the procedure would take 3 to 5 hours. The prostate and lymph nodes nearby would be removed, the catheter inserted and, I gather a few things rearranged to make up for the lack of prostate. Most of this was familiar to me. I think Carolyn appreciated the diagrams and models to see what was going on.
After maybe 20 minutes we were met by Dr. Lowe's assistant and scheduled for the procedure on June 24th. I signed some papers confirming what I was agreeing to and that was it. I couldn't help thinking the whole thing felt like, and took about the same amount of time as, buying a car. Dr Lowe was to some degree, selling me on the robotic procedure, which was unneccessary. The rest of the time I felt a bit like I was back in the manager's office going over the financing. Crazy.
And then you walk out on the street with another step completed in a process that seems increasingly planned. Am I doing this too fast? I'm I missing options? I don't think so. I don't want to do this. I want the reality to be something else. That's not an option.
Dr. Lowe seemed a very nice man. He went over the procedure in some detail. We'd be doing "robotic laproscopic surgery". The robot, called a DaVinci is operated by the surgeon at a remote console. They would make 5 small incisions into my abdomen that would allow for the insertion of a drain, camera and the robotic arms. According to the Johns Hopkins website, the procedure would take 3 to 5 hours. The prostate and lymph nodes nearby would be removed, the catheter inserted and, I gather a few things rearranged to make up for the lack of prostate. Most of this was familiar to me. I think Carolyn appreciated the diagrams and models to see what was going on.
After maybe 20 minutes we were met by Dr. Lowe's assistant and scheduled for the procedure on June 24th. I signed some papers confirming what I was agreeing to and that was it. I couldn't help thinking the whole thing felt like, and took about the same amount of time as, buying a car. Dr Lowe was to some degree, selling me on the robotic procedure, which was unneccessary. The rest of the time I felt a bit like I was back in the manager's office going over the financing. Crazy.
And then you walk out on the street with another step completed in a process that seems increasingly planned. Am I doing this too fast? I'm I missing options? I don't think so. I don't want to do this. I want the reality to be something else. That's not an option.
Comments