From Bill G.
At 53 years of age, a yearly physical discovered that I had an elevated PSA count. My family doctor suggested I speak to Dr. Colton and Dr. Zimmerman for further evaluation. After some blood tests and further evaluations, I received a phone call at home from Dr. Colton to advise me that I had Stage 1 Prostate Cancer. The Doctors invited my wife and me to come in and discuss all the options that were available to us, and explained in depth the affects that each process would have on me physically. While we were there, Dr. Zimmerman explained robotic surgery, the number of incisions that would be made, their size, how the machine works, what effects, if any, that type of surgery would have on me. Both doctors put us immediately at ease. They allowed me to decide what option would be best for me. We went ahead with the robotic surgery. Dr. Zimmerman performed the surgery, with Dr Colton assisting, on a Thursday afternoon. By noon Friday, I was on my way home and walked unassisted out of the hospital. Both Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. Colton came into the waiting room to let my wife know surgery was over and that it was a success My wife said she let out a little cry of relief, and both doctors gave her a big hug. They were a great comfort to her as well. I would say the only difficulty my wife and I had during the entire process was getting that catheter bag to stay in place, but that was our own clumsiness to blame. Otherwise, the healing process went very smoothly and very quickly. After 10 days, I was back at work. I waited a couple of months for the stitches, and my muscles to completely heal before working out at the gym again. I was basically back to my normal daily routine. My wife was surprised when only three months after having surgery, with the help of a little pill, all systems were pretty much "go" again. It wasn't 100%...more like 70%, BUT, whatever concerns my wife and I had about "the equipment" never working properly again, went out the window. After 1 year, things are pretty much back to normal. I would absolutely recommend robotic surgery, especially to someone in my age group. More importantly, I would recommend Dr. Zimmerman and Dr. Colton for their skill, expertise, and excellent bedside manner.