I am writing this letter to share my very positive experience with Dr. Nezhat and his staff.

I have severe endometriosis. I didn’t know I had endometriosis until I was 40 because 1 didn’t have the excruciating pain typically associated with the disease. Over the next 8 years, my doctors monitored the endometriosis with regular ultra-sounds, blood tests and a laparoscopic surgery that removed most of an endometrioma on my right ovary. Even after surgery, the endometriosis progressed and the endometrioma continued to grow. Eventually, a blood test in June 2009 returned elevated levels of CA-125. At this point, my Gynecologist referred me to an Oncologist to discuss the results and possible treatment options. The Oncologist recommended a total hysterectomy and I scheduled the surgery.

At first, I assumed that a total hysterectomy was the only viable option. However, after a few days I decided to do my own research to see if I may have other options. I quickly learned that I might not need a total hysterectomy. I decided to seek out a second opinion and contacted the Endometriosis Association for recommended doctors in the Atlanta area. The Endometriosis Association sent me a list of about 5 specialists in Georgia including Dr. Nezhat.

During my consultation, Dr. Nezhat discussed my history, studied my medical history notes, gave me information about CA-125 and ovarian cancer and conducted an examination. After the exam, I met with Dr. Nezhat to discuss his recommendations. Dr. Nezhat told me that I had Silent Endometriosis and suggested I have surgery to remove as much as possible. He explained Silent Endometriosis was worse than “Level 4″ because I had no pain and no symptoms and therefore no mechanism to warn me when my endometriosis was beginning to harm vital organs. He also told me that he believed in only removing organs that were medically necessary. He had never had to conduct a total hysterectomy and that he had never lost a patient.

I decided to follow Dr. Nezhat’s recommendation and scheduled surgery with him. I’m happy to report that I did not need a total hysterectomy. My endometriosis had spread considerably, and Dr. Nezhat removed as much as possible; the endometriosis could have caused irreversible damage had I not had surgery.
My experience with surgery was quite positive. Dr. Nezhat’s staff is kind, supportive and professional and helped me prepare. I had the surgery at Northside Hospital where I found the staff exceptionally friendly as well. I recovered from surgery pretty quickly and was able to return to work in just under 3 weeks. Dr. Nezhat includes with his surgeries pre- and post-procedure recommendations (diet, supplements, walking exercise) that I followed. I believe I recovered more quickly from this extensive surgery because of these recommendations.

I’m writing this final paragraph a year after my surgery. I’m happy to report that this past year, my health has been the best it has been in a long time. My energy level is much higher and I didn’t get suffer from any colds this past winter (I had been averaging 2-3). People I haven’t seen in a while comment on how clear my skin and eyes look. I had no idea that my endometriosis was also wearing me down. I’m happy to write this letter to help anyone making the same decision I made last year.