"Not only is Dr. Makhoul an excellent surgeon, but he took his time, patiently explaining everything that was going on."

After Expert Cancer Care, Tyrone Is Cruising In His Classic Corvette.

In 2017, 59-year-old Tyrone Henson was increasingly bothered by abdominal tenderness, back pain, constipation, and bladder problems. He had sought medical advice but had received differing diagnoses of irritable bowel syndrome and a hernia. His symptoms only continued to worsen. “I couldn’t even sit for long periods of time, and it got to the point where I could no longer work,” the retired firefighter and K9 police officer said. “That’s when I knew something serious was going on – and I needed answers.”

After conducting a thorough medical history and physical exam at Holy Cross Hospital, the ER team ordered a CT scan that revealed masses in his colon and liver. A colonoscopy that showed he had stage IV metastatic colon cancer, which had spread to his liver.

Dr. Rami Makhoul was called in to lead Tyrone’s cancer team.

After a meticulous evaluation,  he designed an aggressive treatment approach.  In 2018, Dr. Makhoul performed minimally invasive colorectal surgery on Tyrone using the da Vinci® Xi surgical system at Holy Cross Germantown Hospital. Dr. Makhoul was able to remove the entire cancerous tumor and preserve normal digestive function without the need for a colostomy.

Tyrone experienced minimal pain and went home a couple of days later. “The pain patients experience after robotic surgery is much less than when surgery is performed as an open or laparoscopic procedure. Robotic surgery causes less trauma to the abdominal wall, making the patient’s recovery much smoother,” said Dr. Makhoul.

“Not only is Dr. Makhoul an excellent surgeon, but he took his time, patiently explaining everything that was going on,” said Tyrone. “The modern, advanced medical care at Holy Cross is just unbelievable.”

After he fully recovered from surgery, Tyrone began a robust regimen of chemotherapy to shrink the tumors on his liver. Tyrone then had surgery to remove the liver tumors and he was able to achieve remission and had an exceptionally good outcome.

 

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