Kennedy: Healing through Technology
Kennedy Easley had a history of vomiting that her parents believed was from severe food allergies. She also had a slightly enlarged kidney, but Kennedy's parents were told that it was nothing to worry about. After a tumble on her side while playing Putt Putt, Kennedy woke up the next morning complaining of her aching side. Her increasing discomfort and frequent nausea caused her parents to take her to the Children's Emergency Center of Wolfson Children's Hospital where she was put on IV fluids and doctors found blood in her urine. She was quickly admitted to Wolfson as an inpatient. Pediatric urologist Michael Erhard, MD, medical director of Children's Surgical Services at Wolfson, discovered that Kennedy's left kidney was severely enlarged and filled with fluid. "Her kidney was so large that the doctor was surprised that it hadn't ruptured," recalls her mother. The ureter that connected her left kidney to her bladder was blocked. This blockage of her ureter was causing backup into her kidney and that was causing the nausea.
Kennedy received a temporary stent to relieve her discomfort, while her parents made a decision. They had two choices: a traditional "open" surgery, or a new robotic-assisted surgical procedure, the da Vinci® Robotic-Assisted Surgery system, that would mean a much faster recovery time for their daughter. It also meant a shorter hospital stay and lower costs.
For Kennedy's parents, that decision was easy to make; they chose the daVinci®.
Four months later, Kennedy had surgery to remove the blockage of her ureter.
Surgery and recovery went well. After four days in the hospital, Kennedy was able to go home. While the doctor warned that she might not be too active for the first few days, her mom recalls, "Kennedy ran up the driveway and hasn't stopped running since."
