College student and athlete Sheridan B., from Corpus Christi, TX had suffered with endometriosis that interfered with her ability to focus on her studies and play soccer, a sport she has played all her life. Unsuccessful with her search to find a specialist in her home town, she decided to broaden her scope.
“Through my process of trying to find help locally, I hit a lot of dead ends,’ said Sheridan, B. “I was looking to consult with other surgeons, and it was my mom who, during her search, found The Center for Innovative GYN Care when she searched online. I had all these issues and the doctors would treat the symptoms but would never fix the problem.”
The lower abdominal and back pain started in January. Sheridan had just come home from Christmas break, which lasts about a month, and started to feel sick. There were a lot of theories, but it was about 2-3 months before the focus turned to evaluating for GYN conditions. “We went to a gastroenterologist and my own gynecologist,” said Sheridan. “It was so frustrating; I was in the midst of college, and the stress of all of that, and then not knowing what this was had piled on top of it.”
Sheridan had an initial conversation with Dr. Paul MacKoul by phone and discussed her symptoms, long-term plans, and how he would perform the minimally invasive endometriosis excision that she needed.
Endometriosis excision is a procedure that removes lesions from the pelvic cavity that develop during periods of inflammation. The lesions are made of tissue that resembles the lining of the uterus (the endometrial lining). The tissue behaves like the lining, so that once a month, during a woman’s menstrual cycle, the tissue swells, sheds and bleeds. However, since it has no pathway out of the body, it creates inflammation that can also lead to scarring. Removing these lesions completely can reduce pain overall. Depending on the patient, additional treatments may be necessary, as well as repeat surgeries.
Endometriosis responds to estrogen. Hysterectomy with or without removal of the ovaries is for women who do not desire fertility, or for women for whom conservative surgery has failed. Of all of the methods to treat endometriosis, a hysterectomy with removal of both ovaries results in the best long-term pain control. If the ovaries are preserved, the chance that symptoms will return is six times higher than if they are removed. Hysterectomy will cure adenomyosis, a form of endometriosis that grows into the wall of the uterus.
Life After A Laparoscopic Hysterectomy | CIGC Travel Patient Cassandra D.
“After my consult with Dr. MacKoul, I realized it was the best fit. My mom and I felt very comfortable that he had the knowledge and tools. Even though we suspected that it was a gynecological problem, after speaking with him, it was clear what was going on with me. The thing I liked the most, I had talked with a lot of local doctors, he was very honest with me, but he seemed like he genuinely cared about how I would be feeling now, and how it would be for me in the future. I really felt after talking with Dr. MacKoul that he had a good basis of what he thought was going on with me. He was very helpful, and I had only talked to him over the phone.”
Learn why women travel from around the world to CIGC for minimally invasive GYN surgery.
“As far as travel it was pretty easy. Getting there wasn’t super difficult. The surgery was on Tuesday, April 26, and we arrived on Monday and left on a Thursday. I am very lucky that I got it taken care of so quickly.
“After the surgery, it was a bit rough immediately after, but by Saturday, just over a day after I returned home, I was up and around. By comparison, a year and a half ago I had a partial hysterectomy that was an open procedure. It took me weeks to get back on my feet and start to feel like I could get back to normal activity.”
Sheridan is heading into her senior year at college.
“I just did one of my first workouts. I was worried about the healing time, and I was able to go to the gym and not feel any pain. And I haven’t been feeling any of my other symptoms. I’ve been playing soccer since I was 7. I just finished my junior year of college and I play divisional soccer. I had come to do fitness during the spring in the off-season and I couldn’t even run before the surgery.”
“I’m looking forward to just feeling normal again. My last semester I told my mom I feel like a shell of who I am. Going into the future, I’m looking forward to the little things, just going to the gym, and being able to do all of the things my friends were doing and staying on top of schoolwork. It’s nice to have my energy back. I like to keep myself busy.
GYN surgical specialists can often see women sooner because they are focused entirely on surgery. Each patient gets detailed, in depth attention from Dr. Natalya Danilyants and Dr. Paul J. MacKoul. This personalized care helps patients understand their condition and the recommended treatment so that they can have confidence from the very start. Our surgeons have performed over 20,000 GYN procedures and are constantly finding better ways to improve outcomes for patients.
Book a consultation today with Paul MacKoul MD or Natalya Danilyants MD.
Offices are conveniently located throughout the Washington D.C. area in Rockville, Reston, and Annapolis, MD. Women looking for a GYN specialist for a laparoscopic hysterectomy, endometriosis excision or fibroid removal travel to CIGC from around the world.
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Vitals, RateMDs, Google Plus, Wellness, and UCompareHealthCare.
CIGC TRAVEL PROGRAM
Even if you are not from the DC area, many patients travel to The Center for Innovative GYN Care for our groundbreaking procedures. We treat women from around the world who suffer from complex GYN conditions.
Learn more in our travel program.
Schedule a consultation to learn more about how we can treat your condition today.
