Patient Testimonials - Daniel

Patient Testimonials
Daniel,
a Patient at Gustave Roussy

On a beautiful Sunday in June 2023—the 4th, to be exact—I was invited to the IGR for robotic surgery. I had cancer of the cardia, which would be eradicated through a Lewis-Santy procedure.

A section of the esophagus and part of the stomach are removed, and the remaining parts are reconnected using automatic sutures.

 The surgery was scheduled for the next day.

So the following Monday morning, they came to get me for the surgery.

A large operating room with many members of the surgical team and the four-armed da Vinci robot awaited me.

The procedure began with an epidural while I was seated, followed by the attachment of various tubes and lines. Oxygen, blood gas monitoring, and an IV—to start with; I’d find out about the rest when I woke up.

That is to say, a nasogastric tube, endotracheal intubation, a morphine pump, and a chest drain.

In the meantime, the anesthesia had taken effect, and I woke up a few hours later in the recovery room.

With a string of small scars (14 in all). Every cloud has a silver lining, as the robotic surgery avoids a large, unsightly scar.  

The pain was moderate overall, which allows me to say that this surgery is perfectly acceptable and that patients can approach it with confidence.

In the end, I spent one week in the recovery unit and one week in the intensive care unit.

It is now April 2024, and immunotherapy will continue through July.