Methodist Health System | Methodist Dallas Medical Center | Shine | Winter 2015-2016

44 / 48

44 SHINE Winter 2015–2016
DA VINCI SURGICAL SYSTEM
When Micheal Cupples decided it was
time to consider surgery to address
her increasingly difficult periods,
she knew she needed to get it right
the first time.
“My periods were going as long
as two weeks each month and were
very painful,” says the 39-year-old
Mansfield mother of two who recently
launched her own consulting business.
“Things had gotten to the point
that I was sometimes missing work,”
she says. “I tried medication, but
the side effects were unpleasant
and it didn’t get my symptoms
under control.”
Finally, Micheal approached
her physician about having
a hysterectomy.
“When she told me I was an
excellent candidate for a da Vinci
robotic procedure, I immediately
A SPEEDY
RECOVERY
HELPS A
said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” Micheal recalls.
“I’m a busy mom and a new business
owner. I needed a solution that would
put this behind me once and for all.”
A game-changing procedure
Sara Northrop, DO, Micheal’s
OB-GYN, describes the hysterectomy
with the da Vinci® Surgical System as
“a real game changer for patients.”
“While traditional surgery
typically requires a two-day hospital
stay and up to four weeks of recovery,
da Vinci patients usually go home
the next day and resume most of
their normal activities in about
two weeks,” says Dr. Northrop,
who serves on the medical staff at
Methodist Mansfield Medical Center.
As with other da Vinci procedures,
the robot-assisted hysterectomy offers
the additional benefits of reduced
scarring and blood loss and a lower risk
of complications.
“There’s nothing that compares to
the flexibility and increased visibility
that surgeons have with the da Vinci
robot,” Dr. Northrop says. “The result
is significantly less pain for patients.”
A life-changing decision
Within eight hours of her procedure,
Micheal says she felt completely
back to normal.
“It was almost like I hadn’t even had
surgery,” she says.
“I went home the next day, and I
never even needed the pain medication
IS DA VINCI FOR YOU? Find a surgeon
who performs robotic procedures at
.
No longer hindered by long, painful menstrual periods, Micheal Cupples
keeps up easily with her active daughters.
mom on the go
“Getting rid of the pain was so freeing — it really changed my life.”
— Micheal Cupples