Nobody looks forward to the prospect of having surgery, but for many patients, it can be life-changing, said Dr. Michael Heuman of Knox Community Hospital.
He cited surgery that eliminates acid reflux as one of the procedures, in particular, that brings joy to patients.
"These are people who are really miserable before the surgery," the physician, a general surgeon, said. "About 95% of the time, the surgery is successful. They come back two weeks after surgery and tell me, 'I never knew how good life could be.'"
The surgery usually involves repairing a hernia, so that stomach acid no longer is pushed up into the lining of the esophagus, freeing the patients from having to take medication for relief.
Hernia surgeries are among the most common types of surgery performed at Knox Community Hospital, Heuman said.
"We see patients of all ages with hernias," he said. "These days, we usually consider surgery if the hernia is becoming larger or if it's becoming symptomatic – it's bothering you," he said.
Other general surgery procedures include gall bladder removal, colon surgery, thyroid surgery, skin cancer removal and breast cancer surgery.
Surgeons now use robotic-assisted or laparoscopic surgery for many procedures, Heuman said.
"It's a lot less painful," he said. "The robot isn't doing the operation. The robot is just holding our laparoscopic instruments and we are controlling the robotic arms to do the surgery. It makes it a little more precise. The robotic camera provides 3-D vision."
Surgical robots have helped make recovery times shorter, with patients often able to go home the same day as the surgery without having to stay overnight at the hospital.
"The laparoscopic hernia repair surgery used to be one of my most painful recoveries," Heuman said. "Now patients usually have one or two days when they need to take pain pills and be out of work, and then they are pretty much back to normal."
