71 Year Old Man

“I woke up one morning with an inguinal hernia and made an appointment with my doctor. In the meantime, I did some internet research and found only CRMC and two places in the Twin Cities that performed robotic laparoscopy surgery which I considered to be the gold standard. By then, I saw my doctor who confirmed my diagnosis and that I needed surgery. I went to CRMC’s web page, viewed a hernia seminar video, and made and appointment. My doctor did the pre-op visit and the surgery was scheduled. I walked into CRMC at 9:30 a.m. on a Friday for an 11 a.m. surgery and was wheeled out at 3:30 p.m. I’ve had major surgery before, so I was prepared for the worst. Dr. Loveitt was very good and the OR staff were absolutely spectacular; it was a pleasant, relaxed, no-hurry, no-stress atmosphere with very supportive nurses. I was given prescriptions for pain but did not need them or any over-the-counter pain relievers. Because we live 240 miles away, we stayed at a Baxter hotel for the weekend and enjoyed good food from area restaurants. Hours after the surgery, I was doing laps back and forth in the hotel’s hallways and as the weekend progressed, I increased my laps and walked up and down stairs. I talked to the charge nurse on Saturday, the surgeon on Sunday, and saw Dr. Loveitt again on Monday. He examined me and said the hernia would never come back and cleared me to drive back home. I feel great and am anxious to get back to yard work which I couldn’t do before the surgery.”