Larry P., a 64 year old patient who underwent robotic prostate surgery with Dr. David Samadi six weeks prior to the making of the video (just before he heads out for a round of golf) goes in to detail about his prostate cancer journey.
Based on an elevated PSA detected by an internist it was identified that an MRI was needed and based on Dr. Samadi’s expertise in the field the man decided to consult with him.
Dr. Samadi personally performed the MRI Biopsy at his midtown Manhattan office & according to the patient ‘it was painless’ & ‘he’d rather get a biopsy than get a tooth capped in his mouth’!
Larry spent around a month doing due diligence consulting with Columbia & evaluating radiation treatment. Additionally, in order to get a second opinion, he visited Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where his experience was very different to what he experienced with Dr. David Samadi. According to him, the narrow hallways, smaller offices & the overall feel of Sloan Kettering wasn’t very pleasing. He met with a competent surgeon who had performed 200 robotic prostate surgeries.
Dr. Samadi has performed over 7,000 radical robotic prostate surgeries to date which made him realize that a surgeon’s experience plays an extremely important role in the patient’s outcome, quality of life, sexual function and continence.
According to Larry, he understood that getting Dr. Samadi to treat him was undoubtedly the best decision he could make and proceeded with his surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital where Dr. Samadi has a private prostate cancer wing. He states that he’s never seen a nicer hospital facility like Dr. Samadi’s where every patient gets a private suite with nursing staff handpicked by Dr. Samadi. Most patients only have to spend one night at the hospital. However since Larry enjoyed the facility immensely he decided to spend three nights there.
The surgical team is also handpicked by Dr. Samadi who’ve worked together for many years. Dr. Samadi performs the entire surgery himself which usually take about two hours. Larry states that men should be cautious about getting treated at teaching hospitals as training doctors may perform surgeries on patients and as he realized during his research the surgeon’s experience is crucial to the outcome of the surgery.
Mr. P credits Dr. Samadi for the great prognosis & reiterates that the experience of the surgeon performing robotic prostate surgery is something that matters.