Gynecologic Surgery: Joy's Story
November 27, 2019
"I no longer live in fear of Ovarian Cancer."
- Joy Gerst
Joy Gerst has everything she ever wanted—and a couple of things she prefers to live without. The 61 year old from Germantown is a mother to three, grandmother of one—with another on the way. Her successful career in schools in Montgomery County is nearing the 30-year mark.
She also has a family history of ovarian cancer—and a greater risk of developing the disease. “I had been meaning to have my ovaries removed for some time,” Joy says. “But life got in the way.” Life included previous gynecologic surgeries—and scar tissue that complicated any further procedures.
“I told my gynecologist I was ready to have my remaining fallopian tube and ovary removed,” she explains. In order to perform Joy’s complex surgery using minimally invasive techniques, she would need the skills of an experienced gynecologic surgeon.
Holy Cross Health specialists working at Holy Cross Hospital and Holy Cross Germantown Hospital perform more than 1,100 gynecologic and gynecologic oncology inpatient surgeries each year, more in Maryland than any other health system or hospital. Our minimally invasive gynecologic surgery program is recognized for excellence, quality and innovation and has earned a reputation for groundbreaking clinical care and research.
ADVANCED MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY
“Scarring from previous surgeries makes any procedure trickier,” says Albert Steren, MD, medical director, Gynecologic Oncology and Minimally Invasive Gynecology, Holy Cross Health. “Scar tissue causes organs to stick to one another. So before we can remove a patient’s ovaries and tubes, or uterus, we need to separate other organs and vessels from the adjacent structures to create a good visual field,” he explains.
Albert Steren, MD
Ricardo Cook, MD
In late June, Joy came to Holy Cross Germantown Hospital for her procedure. “Although Dr. Steren didn’t promise me he could perform the procedure laparoscopically, I trusted him from the start,” Joy says.
During her surgery, several small incisions were made in Joy’s abdomen, creating ports to thread a video camera and surgical instruments through. Real-time images on the video screen guided Dr. Steren’s hands. And as he predicted, scar tissue had formed on the organs surrounding her ovary and fallopian tube. But he disentangled them and completed the minimally invasive surgery successfully.
“After the procedure, while I was still in recovery, Dr. Steren came by and the minute I saw his big smile I knew that all went well,” Joy remembers. “Just hours after surgery I was resting at home.”
For those patients who may need to spend the night, the spacious private rooms at Holy Cross Germantown Hospital have comfortable furniture, private bathrooms, cable television and Internet access.
Two weeks after her surgery, Joy was back to her routine, feeling good—and more than a little relieved to have it all behind her.
A MULTITUDE OF SURGICAL SPECIALTIES
“Gynecologic surgery is just one of the many procedures our team of experts perform at Holy Cross Germantown Hospital,” says Ricardo Cook, MD, chair of Surgery. “The team represents nearly every surgical subspecialty including orthopedic, urologic, and colon and rectal, to name just a few—and offers the most advanced surgical treatment for the full range of conditions.”