11 / 16
“She’s
so modest, but Mama is proud,” Robbie
Brown says about her daughter, Toni, who has just
come in from basketball practice. Finally, the high
school senior fesses up that she also does track and field.
On a national level.
And is ranked second in the country in her age
group for shot put.
Mama should be proud.
Last summer, Toni earned silver in the Junior
Olympics for shot put in the 17–18 division.
“We have college letters everywhere,” the mom says.
“You wouldn’t believe all the trophies and medals in
her room.”
However, last winter, the coveted collegiate athlete
found herself benched with extreme abdominal pain.
Gallbladder gone wrong
Toni and her brothers had been spending the week
with their grandmother, and for dinner one night,
Toni decided she wanted nachos.
“That’s when I realized something was wrong,” Toni
says. “My stomach just turned over.”
After returning home, the pain persisted to the
point that Toni was doubled over.
In a nearby emergency department, a sonogram
found gallstones in Toni’s gallbladder with signs of
inflammation, and it was recommended that the organ
be removed, a procedure called a cholecystectomy.
Robbie wanted to keep the procedure close to the
family’s Lancaster home, and both Toni’s pediatrician
and OB-GYN recommended Ron Calhoun, MD,
FACS, general surgeon at Methodist Charlton
Medical Center.
Da Vinci robot helps surgeons
take a shot at gallbladder pain
LET DA VINCI HELP YOU
To find a da Vinci-trained surgeon to address your gallbladder woes call
- -
its place
How gallstones get in the way
Dr. Calhoun says that while spicy and greasy foods,
like nachos, don’t cause gallstones, they can let you
know they’re there.
“Greasy or spicy food causes the gallbladder to
contract,” he says. “If there are already gallstones
present in the gallbladder, this will push them into the
neck of the organ, causing the acute pain that brings
people to the doctor.”
Once you’re feeling that pain, Dr. Calhoun says it’s
time to say goodbye to the gallbladder. Gallstones can
lead to jaundice and pancreatitis, and once you have
one gallstone attack, you’re more likely to have more
frequent and severe ones over time.
Da Vinci does it better
Fortunately, gallbladder removal is easier than ever,
thanks to the robotic da Vinci Surgical System. At
first Toni was nervous about a robotic procedure —
until Dr. Calhoun set the record straight.
“The robot does not do the surgery,” he says. “The
surgeon interacts with the robot for a safer, more
precise procedure. With more control, there is less
bending, moving, and pressure on the abdominal wall.
For almost all of my patients, they experience less pain.”
As for Toni, she raves about her experience.
“Everyone at Methodist Charlton was nice, and the
doctors really tried to help me relax,” she says.
“The recovery felt fast to me and didn’t affect my
game. I was back on the court in two weeks.”
Methodist Charlton Medical Center
•
Summer 2015
11