Laproscopic RPLND

[sjsamgolf]

Hello everyone.

I just inquiring about this procedure. I know it is new but there has got to be surgeons who have done alot of these. How about Dr. Kovassari at Johns Hopkins. Anyone ever have this done? I was just diagnosed with Stage 1 50% immature teratoma, 50% yolk sac, less than 1% embroynal carcinoma. No VI or LI. It seems if I were to have a rplnd I would be a strong candidate to do it laproscopically. I am terrified of the rplnd. I feel like watchful waiting will worry me to much and really do want to do chemo either. Any suggestions from anyone. I'm 2 1/2 weeks in, so I have another month of deciding assuming my afp falls to normal.

[Scott]

Forum members who have had laparoscopic RPLND include Dave V, Molars, and me. Dr. Louis Kavoussi at Johns Hopkins is a proponent and should be a good choice. Dr. Ingolf Tuerk did mine at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts. Search the forums for "laparoscopic" and you'll turn up some past discussions on this controversial topic.

[rlhawk]

I had a laparoscopic RPLND also, by the same surgeon at UCSF as Dave V.

[Dave V]

I was glad that I was offered the L-RPLND. I would do it again, no regrets. Every case is different so I can't say if yours fits the profile or not. I trusted the surgeon who has done both and he said there was really no difference in the outcome as far as he was concerned.

[Molars]

I had L-RPLND 12/15/05 by Dr. Porter in Seattle (swedish medical center). I had consulted with him and Dr. Kavoussi who are the top 2 L-RPLND docs. Dr. Kavoussi was in the process of moving from Johns Hopkins to a hospital in New York, couldn't see me for about 6 weeks. Dr. Porter was able to schedule the surgery within a week or two which is why I chose him. To be honest, the first doctor I saw has scheduled open RPLND for the same day, the 15th, and I didn't feel 100% comfortable. Wasn't sure how much experience this guy had, in fact, he told me to expect a 20% chance of retrograde ejaculation. Dr. Porter was straight forward with answering my questions, showed me his research and data on the lap RPLNDs he did(I believe I was the 51st), very small percentage of retrograde, and I immediately know I was with a doctor who had unparalleled experience. The composition of your tumor is a little different from mine so I can't recommend one technique over the other. I would recommend that you call Dr. Porter or Dr. Kavoussi and discuss your case with them. I was amazed how fast both of them returned my phone call. Dr. Kavoussi actually returned my call within an hour or two and Dr. Porter returned it the following day. If you have any specific questions about my experiences, I'd be happy to discuss them with you.
I was discharged from the hospital the day after L-RPLND. 3rd day post op I was touring the Seattle Aquarium with my fiance. Flew home 5 days post op. No problems. I hope all goes well for you with whatever route you choose to take.