Sheryl Wold
Sheryl Wold, age 52 of Aitkin, relates her excellent experience with hernia repair at Riverwood Healthcare Center with the da Vinci Surgery System’s robotic technology.
“About two years ago, I was helping my husband load up some firewood onto our trailer, and that was when I first noticed that I had a hernia. I had an inguinal/groin hernia on my left side. I could feel the hernia protrude at times and felt soreness especially when I sat down.
At my annual physical with my Riverwood provider we talked about my hernia. He suggested that I see one of the general surgeons. In a discussion about the options for surgery, the surgeon advised me that robotic surgery was coming to Riverwood soon. He stated that that with robotic, minimally invasive procedure the recovery time was shorter, incisions smaller, and less pain in recovery, compared to traditional hernia repair surgery.
Shortly after Riverwood began offering robotic surgical repair for hernias, I got my surgery scheduled for April 23, 2019. The care that I received from the Riverwood staff was outstanding! The surgical services staff was very professional, getting everything for my surgery set up so I didn’t have to worry about a thing. From the surgeon to the surgery nurses to the nurse anesthetist, everyone put me at ease and let me know what to expect.
One of the benefits that impressed me was that I did not have a weight-lifting limit after the surgery, which was very nice since I have two grand babies that I wanted to hold and lift.
I appreciated that the surgeon came to see me both before and after my surgery to see how I was doing, He was very caring and compassionate, putting me at ease with his knowledge of the robotic, minimally invasive surgery.
My hernia surgery went very smoothly; it only took about an hour. I have three tiny incisions that are not even a half inch and barely visible.
My recovery was very quick. I had minimal pain or discomfort and only needed to take Tylenol. My surgery was on a Tuesday and by Thursday I was up doing some activities and well enough to go back to work within a week.
I would definitely recommend hernia repair performed by the highly skilled and experienced team of general surgeons at Riverwood to my family and friends. I even received a really nice thank-you card from the surgery staff, which made me feel that they really do care.”