Anne Arundel Medical Center | Living Healthier Together | Early Fall 2014 - page 11

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Sisters Brenda Lewis and Dorothy King-
Curry may have di erent stories, but
they’ve come to the same conclusion: You
don’t have to live with broid tumors.
“I waited too many years,” Brenda says.
“My broids were leaning against my
bladder, and my situation just got worse.”
When Brenda, who lives in Laurel, rst
saw urogynecologist Briana Walton, MD,
she was having problems with incontinence.
“She came to me with overactive
bladder symptoms,” says Dr. Walton,
a specialist in female pelvic medicine
and reconstructive surgery. “I knew she
had broids. ey were fairly small, so
we discussed using the robotic-assisted
surgery along with reconstructive repair
at the same time.”
e minimally invasive surgery
removed Brenda’s broids and cured her
incontinence with very little disruption
to her life. “Since I had the minimally
invasive robotic surgery, my recovery
time was much less than it would have
been,” she says. “ e next day I was
home and going up and down stairs.”
For Dorothy, though, robotic surgery
wasn’t an option. Because of the size
of her broid tumors, she required a
hysterectomy. “Dorothy had very large
broids, and it was nearly impossible for
us to do any form of minimally invasive
surgery,” says Dr. Walton. “She required
an abdominal incision in order to remove
the broids.”
e procedure immediately alleviated
Dorothy’s pain and discomfort. She says
it was the same relief that comes with
delivering a baby. “Once the baby is out,
you’re ne,” the Glen Burnie resident
says. “ at’s how I felt. I didn’t have any
pain. After three weeks, I was up and
active again.”
“Don’t wait,” says Brenda. “Fibroids
don’t go away on their own.”
Learn more about pelvic health at
askAAMC.org/PelvicHealth
.
Fibroids
Two Sisters,
Two Di erent
Treatments
Video
Blog
More Success Stories
Visit our
Living Healthier Together
blog at
askAAMC.org/Living
and
nd stories and videos about
other amazing people, including:
Karen Metler.
This runner’s
urinary incontinence was
keeping her from doing what
she loved until she took action
and got treatment.
Marlin Fitzwater.
A er a cancer
diagnosis, the former White
House press secretary learned
that knowledge really is power.
Karen Dobbs, PT.
She’s a
pelvic health physical therapist
specializing in relieving pelvic
pain, bladder pain, pain during
sexual intercourse, and urinary
and fecal incontinence.
Primetime and
Online
Your daily dose from AAMC @
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