da Vince robotic surgery drs. in Atlanta GA?

mila6062
mila6062 Member Posts: 7
in Prostate Cancer #1
In your opinion, who is the best dr. and hospital for da Vince robotic surgery in Atlanta?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Comments

  • Klemon
    Klemon Member Posts: 26
    #2
    Surgeons
    Hi there!
    Unfortunately I cannot help you in the Atlanta area, your post caught my eye since my sister resides there. :>) That being said, my husband had the DaVinci robotic at Mayo Clinic in Rochesrer, MN by Dr Igor Frank. If you are in a position to travel , I highly recommend him. He does 6-8 a week and they treat more prostate cancer there than anywhere else in the world. We were more than pleased and were referred to him by our own doctor who himself and both of his brothers had the same surgery last year by Dr Frank. For us it is a 5 1/2 hour trip by car, ..shorter for you by plane and they are fine with folks flying home afterwards, ..with some instructions about standing up and moving around about every 30 mins while you travel. We were extremely pleased with the hospital, surgeon and everything that Mayo offers, We are a medical family and were extremely impressed by the entire experience. I have no doubt there are many options in the Atlanta area, we also had many options here at home, but chose the Mayo route due to Dr Frank's reputation and experience. We never had any issues scheduling appts, never had to wait and they cater to travelers in every aspect. Billing was seamless through Blue Cross. If you google him or check out the Mayo web page he has a bio up there. Wishing you the best of luck
    If you have any questions about the surgical experience, will be happy to share, my husband had his 7/22/10
  • mila6062
    mila6062 Member Posts: 7
    #3
    Klemon said:

    Surgeons
    Hi there!
    Unfortunately I cannot help you in the Atlanta area, your post caught my eye since my sister resides there. :>) That being said, my husband had the DaVinci robotic at Mayo Clinic in Rochesrer, MN by Dr Igor Frank. If you are in a position to travel , I highly recommend him. He does 6-8 a week and they treat more prostate cancer there than anywhere else in the world. We were more than pleased and were referred to him by our own doctor who himself and both of his brothers had the same surgery last year by Dr Frank. For us it is a 5 1/2 hour trip by car, ..shorter for you by plane and they are fine with folks flying home afterwards, ..with some instructions about standing up and moving around about every 30 mins while you travel. We were extremely pleased with the hospital, surgeon and everything that Mayo offers, We are a medical family and were extremely impressed by the entire experience. I have no doubt there are many options in the Atlanta area, we also had many options here at home, but chose the Mayo route due to Dr Frank's reputation and experience. We never had any issues scheduling appts, never had to wait and they cater to travelers in every aspect. Billing was seamless through Blue Cross. If you google him or check out the Mayo web page he has a bio up there. Wishing you the best of luck
    If you have any questions about the surgical experience, will be happy to share, my husband had his 7/22/10

    Thank you very much for your
    Thank you very much for your reply, and congratulations on having this behind you.

    The surgery will be for my son who recently turned 50. His diagnosis hit us like a ton of bricks! He went in for his yearly physical and his PSA had elevated from 4.0 to 7.0 in a year so his internist recommended he see a urologist as a precaution. The urologist did a biopsy, sent him for a bone scan and cat scan. The biopsy was positive - 3+4=7 which the urologist said was MUCH better than a 4+3=7. PSA was 7.7. The cancer appeared to be contained to the prostate. My son and I both have been researching the internet and am now even more confused.So many differing opinions out there. The urologist suggested a radical prostectomy as his best option. Said he would like to do the surgery no later than 3 months from the date of his biopsy. Didn't want to chance it spreading. Told my son if he wanted to get more opinions he would gladly send what he had to any doctors of his choice. My son was debating on going to Mayo Clinic or MD Anderson in Houston for a 2nd opinion. He chose MD Anderson. He is now waiting for a call from them telling him when to be there for more testing.It should be no later than next week. I'm thinking he will probably want a 3rd opinion before deciding. His urologist seemed to discourage the DaVinci robotic. Said he preferred to be IN the room, hands on with his patients. However, he did say there were several good drs. in Atlanta doing robotic if my son decided to go that route. He named a couple but we were in such a state of shock, neither of us can remember the names. Hearing the big "C" word does crazy things to your mind!

    When you went to Mayo for the surgery, how long did your husband stay there? Does he return there for follow-ups or is he followed by a local dr.? How is your husband doing now? Was his cancer confined to the prostate or had it spread? What was his Gleason Score? I don't know but have read there's less side-effects and faster recooperation with robotic surgery and I believe my son is leaning toward that.

    That speaks volumns for Dr. Frank since your own dr. and two of his brothers used him. Hopefully my son will elect to see him for a 3rd opinion.

    Thanks again for your help!
  • lewvino
    lewvino Member Posts: 1,010
    #4
    mila6062 said:

    Thank you very much for your
    Thank you very much for your reply, and congratulations on having this behind you.

    The surgery will be for my son who recently turned 50. His diagnosis hit us like a ton of bricks! He went in for his yearly physical and his PSA had elevated from 4.0 to 7.0 in a year so his internist recommended he see a urologist as a precaution. The urologist did a biopsy, sent him for a bone scan and cat scan. The biopsy was positive - 3+4=7 which the urologist said was MUCH better than a 4+3=7. PSA was 7.7. The cancer appeared to be contained to the prostate. My son and I both have been researching the internet and am now even more confused.So many differing opinions out there. The urologist suggested a radical prostectomy as his best option. Said he would like to do the surgery no later than 3 months from the date of his biopsy. Didn't want to chance it spreading. Told my son if he wanted to get more opinions he would gladly send what he had to any doctors of his choice. My son was debating on going to Mayo Clinic or MD Anderson in Houston for a 2nd opinion. He chose MD Anderson. He is now waiting for a call from them telling him when to be there for more testing.It should be no later than next week. I'm thinking he will probably want a 3rd opinion before deciding. His urologist seemed to discourage the DaVinci robotic. Said he preferred to be IN the room, hands on with his patients. However, he did say there were several good drs. in Atlanta doing robotic if my son decided to go that route. He named a couple but we were in such a state of shock, neither of us can remember the names. Hearing the big "C" word does crazy things to your mind!

    When you went to Mayo for the surgery, how long did your husband stay there? Does he return there for follow-ups or is he followed by a local dr.? How is your husband doing now? Was his cancer confined to the prostate or had it spread? What was his Gleason Score? I don't know but have read there's less side-effects and faster recooperation with robotic surgery and I believe my son is leaning toward that.

    That speaks volumns for Dr. Frank since your own dr. and two of his brothers used him. Hopefully my son will elect to see him for a 3rd opinion.

    Thanks again for your help!

    Sorry to read about your
    Sorry to read about your son. I do not have the names of Doc's in Atlanta area performing DaVinci. I live in Chattanooga Tn. I chose to go up to Vanderbilt at Nashville TN for my Davinci in Aug 2009. I chose the Doctor there since he had a vast amount of experience with the Robot.

    Yes the "C" word can be scarry, I was diagnosed at age 54 with Gleason 4+3 = 7.
    If you son would like to chat via phone or email just let me know.
    There are so many options to consider. All of the different treatment options have the same goal of getting rid of the cancer. This is the one cancer where your son can make an educated decision on his treatment options. Make sure and weigh the potential side effects when making the decision.

    Larry
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 850 Member
    #5
    I am from Atlanta but flew
    I am from Atlanta but flew up to Chicago to have open surgery by Dr. Catalona at Northwestern but IMHO Dr. Shah out of St Joseph is one of the best in world. CNN did a segment on him couple of years ago (my friend was the one he did surgery on for the filming)…If I were in the market for an oncologist in Atlanta I would select William Nabors…Best of luck in your journey
  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,641 Member
    #6
    bdhilton said:

    I am from Atlanta but flew
    I am from Atlanta but flew up to Chicago to have open surgery by Dr. Catalona at Northwestern but IMHO Dr. Shah out of St Joseph is one of the best in world. CNN did a segment on him couple of years ago (my friend was the one he did surgery on for the filming)…If I were in the market for an oncologist in Atlanta I would select William Nabors…Best of luck in your journey

    Milla; Side effects weigh in the decision of the treatment
    Milla
    You can call your son’s urologist’s office and ask for the names of the doctors he has introduced to you. However, I think you do better to decide after the second opinions from MD Anderson.
    Expect better results from any treatment based on the “quality” of facilities, equipment and team of experts. The side effects weigh in the decision of the treatment option. Better to request for the curriculum of the doctor/s doing the treatment.

    Hope for the best to your son.
    VGama
  • kapoorlaw
    kapoorlaw Member Posts: 1
    #7
    bdhilton said:

    I am from Atlanta but flew
    I am from Atlanta but flew up to Chicago to have open surgery by Dr. Catalona at Northwestern but IMHO Dr. Shah out of St Joseph is one of the best in world. CNN did a segment on him couple of years ago (my friend was the one he did surgery on for the filming)…If I were in the market for an oncologist in Atlanta I would select William Nabors…Best of luck in your journey

    Pt of Nabor - Also considering Catalona / Shah
    Hi BDHilton,

    I was recently diagnosed with PCa. Your post caught my eye as I am also a patient of Dr. Nabors. I am debating whether to go open or da vinci. Dr. Nabors has recommended Catalona for open and Shah for da vinci. I was hoping to speak or chat with you off-line about your experiences with Dr. Catalona.

    My direct email is romy@kapoorlaw.com. And my cell number is 404-386-7404

    All the best,
    Romy Kapoor
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 850 Member
    #8
    kapoorlaw said:

    Pt of Nabor - Also considering Catalona / Shah
    Hi BDHilton,

    I was recently diagnosed with PCa. Your post caught my eye as I am also a patient of Dr. Nabors. I am debating whether to go open or da vinci. Dr. Nabors has recommended Catalona for open and Shah for da vinci. I was hoping to speak or chat with you off-line about your experiences with Dr. Catalona.

    My direct email is romy@kapoorlaw.com. And my cell number is 404-386-7404

    All the best,
    Romy Kapoor

    Hey
    Left you a voice message and sent you an email with my contact information...
  • jbw901
    jbw901 Member Posts: 23
    #9
    Robotic Surgeons in Atlanta
    I am 6 weeks post Robotic Prostectomy surgery in Atlanta.

    I believe selecting your surgeon is an individual choice, and one should interview surgeons, finding someone you are confident in, who specializes in this procedure, and has a reputation as being "one of the best".

    I feel we are fortunate to have surgeons in town who specialize in the procedure. In my research I talked to the following Da Vinci surgeons:

    Dr. Scott Miller - Georgia Urology and Northside Hospital
    Dr. Nikil Shah - St. Joseph's Prostate Cancer Center
    Dr. Rajesh Laungani - Piedmont Hospital

    If you want to discuss my experiences, my email is jbw901@yahoo.com
  • bdhilton
    bdhilton Member Posts: 850 Member
    #10
    jbw901 said:

    Robotic Surgeons in Atlanta
    I am 6 weeks post Robotic Prostectomy surgery in Atlanta.

    I believe selecting your surgeon is an individual choice, and one should interview surgeons, finding someone you are confident in, who specializes in this procedure, and has a reputation as being "one of the best".

    I feel we are fortunate to have surgeons in town who specialize in the procedure. In my research I talked to the following Da Vinci surgeons:

    Dr. Scott Miller - Georgia Urology and Northside Hospital
    Dr. Nikil Shah - St. Joseph's Prostate Cancer Center
    Dr. Rajesh Laungani - Piedmont Hospital

    If you want to discuss my experiences, my email is jbw901@yahoo.com

    Excellent Doctors
    I am unfamiliar with Dr. Laungani but Scott Miller is well regarded along with Shah (in robotics). There are many extremely competent sugeons and like you I believe that one of the most important factors is finding someone you are confident with....

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