Patient with a 19 week size uterus feels great after 4 hours of surgery

January 24th, 2012

One week after Linda’s surgery, she boasted at her post operative visit  how great she felt and was still amazed how well the surgery went.  This patient had been experiencing chronic bleeding and pelvic pain  for months before her regular gynecologist referred her to see Dr. Anthony Quartell for an evaluation.  Upon examining the patient, Dr. Quartell found a large fibroid and ovarian cyst that comprised her 19 week size uterus.  Dr. Quartell recommended a Laparoscopic Supra cervical hysterectomy with the possibility of laparotomy depending on the outcome of Laparoscopic exam.  Subsequent to this, upon inspection through the  laparoscope, it was decided that she should undergo a subtotal abdominal hysterectomy instead.  The patient gave consent and underwent an extensive surgery that included secondary surgical treatment during the same operative session without incident.   Although most hysterectomy cases can be performed laparoscopically, Dr. Quartell does not take chances when it is not the absolute clearest path to take.  His surgical skills are vast and competent enough to adapt to any situation and treat it most beneficial to the patient.

Anthony C. Quartell, MD & Associates serves the Tri state area, including Essex, Morris, Hudson, Passaic, Bergen counties in New Jersey to South Jersey and even New York.

Posted in gynecological problem, surgery |

Patient thanks Dr. Quartell for making her quality of living better!

December 19th, 2011

Seen in our office for a post operative visit, Dr. Quartell’s patient Linda reflected on the discomfort and pain she had experienced during the last year because of a large fibroid and perpetual bleeding ” It was awful.  I bled all the time, had no energy and was uncomfortable to the point of actually feeling pain”.  She explained that she has felt 100% better since her surgery performed earlier in the month.  Dr. Quartell had removed her uterus which contained a large fibroid through laparoscopic surgery, leaving her cervix in tact (laparoscopic supra cervical hysterectomy).  At her recent visit, she relayed that she had gone back to work already and would even be returning to the gym this week.  Most patients react similar to Linda once they have had the surgery and in fact, we have not heard of any negative responses from our patients to this surgery at all.

Anthony C. Quartell, MD & Associates serves Livingston, Millburn, West Orange and surrounding areas.

Posted in gynecological problem, surgery |

Patient was amazed at her quick recovery from her Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

December 5th, 2011

On Friday of this past week, a patient seen for her post operative appointment revealed to the staff of Dr. Anthony C. Quartell that she was amazed at her quick recovery from the Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Dr. Quartell performed on her the week before.  “I don’t even feel as though I had surgery.  I plan on going back to work Monday and I have already gone shopping.  Dr. Quartell is the best!” 

This patient had a large fibroid that had caused her much discomfort and bleeding and consequently, she was referred to Dr. Quartell by her regular gynecologist to discuss the benefits of undergoing laparoscopic hysterectomy as opposed to the traditional open method.  Prior to her exam, the patient was not sure whether she wanted the surgery despite her gynecologist’s advice, however; at her appointment last Friday she claimed she could not believe she hesitated at all.  “If I had known the surgery would go so well and I would recover so quickly, I never would have hesitated. I knew that most women who had hysterectomies spent several days in the hospital and were not supposed to drive or return to work for weeks and I knew I could not do that.  I have two young kids and a job so I could not risk being out so long, but after having the laparoscopic hysterectomy I was able to do everything pretty much right away.”

Anthony C. Quartell, MD serves the Northern New Jersey areas comprised of Essex, Morris, Union, Passaic, Hudson and Sussex Counties.

Posted in gynecological problem, surgery |

Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

November 28th, 2011

At the 11/5/11 Saint Barnabas Ob/gyn department seminar on Advanced Gynecologic Surgery; The Laparoscopic Hysterectomy, which was coordinated by Anthony C. Quartell, MD and the Ob/gyn department staff, Dr. Quartell’s objectives included the need to examine the rationale for the choice of laparoscopic hysterectomy, to compare the potential advantages of laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (lsh), abdominal hysterectomy and vaginal hysterectomy, to identify the indications and contraindications for LSH and finally, to describe the surgical technique for performing laparoscopic hysterectomy.  The response to this topic was received extremely well by an audience comprised of more than 80 physicians from all over the state of New Jersey.  These highly skilled physicians and surgeons  showed great  interest in The Laparoscopic Hysterectomy and its many benefits to the female population they treat.

Anthony C. Quartell, MD serves the areas of Livingston, N.J., Florham Park, N.J, East Hanover, N.J., Whippany, N.J. and surrounding areas.

Posted in gynecological problem, surgery |

Quality of Life is significantly better for LSH patients

November 21st, 2011

As part of the Saint Barnabas Medical Center Department of Ob/gyn and Dr. Anthony Quartell’s  Advanced Gynecologic Surgery symposium on November 5, 2011 at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, a comparative study of Laparascopic Supra Cervical Hysterectomies versus the Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy revealed that post op quality of life for the Laparoscopic supra cervical approach is significantly higher than that of the total  approach.  The quality of life indexes include physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, emotional and mental health. (Einarsson, et.al. 2011, AJOG).  This study included 122 women undergoing LSH (comprised of 71 TLH and 51 LSH patients) for benign disease during the period of February 2008- January 2010).  Anthony C. Quartell, MD was the Course Director and described to an audience consisting of more than 80 physicians the benefits of the laparoscopic supra cervical hysterectomy compared to  the other types of hysterectomies currently being performed.

Anthony C. Quartell, MD serves the essex county, morris county , union county, passaic county, hudson county and surrounding areas.

Posted in gynecological problem, surgery |

The Laparoscopic Approach

November 14th, 2011

When comparing laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and total abdominal hysterectomy outcomes, physicians and patients applaud the advantages of the laparoscopic approach over the abdominal approach.  Some reasons for this include a shorter hospital stay, reduced post-operative pain and a decreased need for narcotics, a quicker return to work and to normal physical activities, an improved cosmesis and reduced wound complications associated with large scars, a signicantly lower wound infection rate and finally, the magnification of anatomy and pathology.  In addition, there is a cost benefit to this approach as well.  The shorter hospital stay and decreased nosocomial infections rate contributes to the hospital cost savings and the decreased need for disability and sick leave lend to the employer cost savings.  Compared to the 6 week recovery period for the total abdominal hysterectomy, the laparoscopic approach typically enables the patient to return to work within one week of surgery thereby, forgoing the need for extended time off.  Finally,  the shorter recovery period requires minimal replacement of child care and/or household services during recovery than the six week period of required recovery for the abdominal hysterectomy.

These are some benefits to this approach, which is why Dr. Anthony Quartell started performing these surgeries more than 5 years ago, before most physicians even comtemplated performing this method of hysterectomy.

Anthony C. Quartell, MD & Associates is the Director of Minimally
Invasive Gynecological Surgery at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J and he  serves the tri state area including Livingston, N.J., Short Hills, N.J., West Orange, N.J., Millburn, N.J. and surrounding areas.

Posted in gynecological problem, surgery |