At age 39, Fairfield resident Annette Serniak had never given much thought to breast cancer. She hadn't yet had her first mammogram, and didn't perform regular breast self-exams. But she knew something was wrong when she accidentally found a lump.
A month before his life-saving heart surgery, freelance photographer Bob Winkler of Stratford couldn’t take a single step without gasping for breath. Today, he’s back to work—and to taking the stairs!
Bridgeport Hospital surgeons are now using the robot-assisted minimally invasive technique for select gynecological procedures. Patients who undergo surgery using this new method usually experience less scarring and a faster return to their daily routines.
Seventy-year-old Theresa DiGennaro of Trumbull also endorses the quality of Bridgeport Hospital’s stroke care. She suffered a stroke on Sept. 21, received immediate care at the hospital and was back home a week later, with no physical or cognitive disabilities.
Greg Bauer of Darien, pictured with his dog, Lilly, is jogging again after having laparoscopic surgery to repair a hernia.
How one family has remembered their beloved mother and daughter - and made a difference in the lives of other cancer patients.
It takes special knowledge and equipment to treat a burn victim. And it takes special skill and understanding to treat a child. When the burn victim is a child, expertise must rise to the very highest level—like that found at Bridgeport Hospital.
"The new da Vinci "S" Surgical System allows surgeons to perform more complex procedures with greater dexterity than traditional open surgery or standard minimally invasive surgery," explains Bridgeport Hospital Chief of Urology Arthur Pinto, MD. "The results are less post-operative pain, a shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery."
Gallstones are made from bile—a liquid created in the liver and stored in the gallbladder until it's needed to digest food. Bile can crystallize into pieces of stony material, as small as a grain of sand or as big as a golf ball.
Atrial fibrillation patient Howard Chess, 59, traveled 1,400 miles from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, early last year to meet with Dr. Robinson and electrophysiologist Craig McPherson, MD. (An electrophysiologist is a cardiologist who specializes in treating heart rhythm disorders.) Howard credits them for giving him a second chance to live the life of his dreams.
Carmella Marranzino of Stratford was at work when she got the call from her doctor. After hanging up with her gynecologist, Carmella immediately called her daughter and asked her to stop by the house that evening. “I tried to downplay the diagnosis,” remembers Carmella. “I told her I had been spotting for a while and that my doctors had done some tests that detected uterine cancer.”
If you don’t like the idea of colon screenings (and who does?), and you think the benefits aren’t worth the discomfort, there’s a family we’d like you to meet: siblings Bob and John Wonneberger and Lissa Wonneberger Kowalski, whose family history makes them perfect poster people for the importance of regular colon screenings.
Ronnie Steeves never suspected his breathlessness was related to a heart condition.
Kim Bassett of Newtown admits, “It was so worthwhile to take a few weeks off to ‘fix’ something that had been sapping my emotional energy for 18 months.”
Until recently, open surgery was the only way to remove them. But thanks to the advanced techniques of minimally invasive surgery (also referred to as laparoscopic surgery), surgeons can perform many operations through a few tiny openings. As a result, patients experience less scarring and blood loss, lower risk of infection, shorter hospital stays, less post-operative pain and quicker recoveries.
To everyone’s relief, Brian Jones’ surgeon had the expertise to get “it” out quickly—and Brian (pictured above, second from left) could get back to work, his family life and planning for the future. Pictured above with Brian are (left-right) Brian’s wife Mary Jane, grandson Connor, daughter Jennifer and granddaughter Olivia.
My breast cancer journey began on November 26, 2012 when I found a lump in my breast. I was a 38-year-old school teacher at the time with two young daughters and an amazing husband. From that moment on, my life became a whirlwind of emotions, phone calls and appointments. It went something like this.
Dawn´s own story began in 1991. She came to work one day with a swollen neck, and a concerned co-worker urged her to see a doctor. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in her chest and neck. After six rounds of successful chemotherapy and a month of radiation therapy in The Cancer Center, she went into remission: no more cancer cells could be found. That makes Dawn a winner. But her story doesn´t end there.
Sandra Bruno's husband, Ken, is a take-charge guy. But when his wife developed breast cancer, he knew that his would be a supporting role.
You may have heard about robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, but did you know that Bridgeport Hospital physicians have performed more than 700 procedures—more than any other hospital in Fairfield County?
This lifelong educator finds that her own experience with Breast Cancer is inspiring her to teach others.
