Every
year, family and consumer science teacher
Sherry Almand leads her students to competitions
throughout the country, enduring long bus rides,
hauling equipment, and patiently coaching everything
from interior design to fashion design.
When her back started hurting in February 2013,
the Midlothian High School teacher chalked it up to
one of those competitions. Before she knew it, though,
her summer break was coming to an end, while her
back pain had no end in sight.
“There were times I thought I needed to go to
the hospital, but then I’d just brush it off as back
pain,” says the 39-year-old mother of two.
Sherry’s chiropractor suspected the pain was
gynecologic and suggested she see her OB-GYN,
David Morehead, DO, FACOG, on the
medical staff at Methodist Mansfield
Medical Center. He discovered a tennis
ball–sized ovarian endometrioma,
a blood-filled cyst that can result
from endometriosis.
When a robot is
the right choice
“Endometriosis is implants of
tissue similar to the uterine lining
but in abnormal locations,”
Dr. Morehead says. “In Sherry’s
case, the endometriosis was inside
her ovary, which had become five
times its normal size.”
Dr. Morehead drained the cyst,
but weeks later it returned and
so did Sherry’s pain. To treat her
symptoms, she decided to have a
total hysterectomy with the
da Vinci® Surgical System.
“I knew Sherry’s procedure
would be more challenging
because of the endometriosis,” Dr. Morehead says.
“By using the da Vinci robot, I had more options to
remove the scar tissue it had caused.”
A new ‘normal’
Sherry went home the day after her surgery with
four small incisions and minimal pain. Less than
three weeks later, she was leading her students to
another competition.
But it was that first drive to school after her surgery
that stands out: “My younger son said, ‘I’m so glad
you’re taking us to school today and that things are
back to normal.’”
Sherry smiled because she actually has a new
pain-free “normal” — one that allows her to be
there for the family and students she loves.
DESIGNED FOR DA VINCI
Methodist Mansfield now has an operating room dedicated to
robotic procedures. To learn more about the da Vinci Surgical
System, visit
A robotic
hysterectomy at
Methodist Mansfield
helped Sherry
Almand get back
to her students.
fordaVinci!
Robotic surgery earns high marks from local teacher
Methodist Mansfield Medical Center
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Fall 2014
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