FROM ROME TO AITKIN: Life-changing hernia surgery

BY RIVERWOOD HEALTHCARE CENTER

Margaret Curry-Michelangeli, who lives in Rome, Italy, is a patient who traveled the longest distance to have hernia surgery at Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin, Minnesota.

Given her plans to visit her family in northern Minnesota, Margaret asked her sister, Kim, if she would check into the possibilities for hernia surgery during her stay around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Searching online, Kim found Hernia Specialists with a team of four general surgeons who practice at Riverwood in Aitkin.

“Everything fell into place for me so nicely,” Margaret explains. “I got an appointment with Dr. Shawn Roberts, who treated me with such respect and compassion. He had just returned from a trip to Italy, so we had something in common right away.”

Margaret adds, “I had been waiting to have my hernia repair surgery for several years and was very nervous about having it done. But Dr. Roberts and team were so reassuring to me, and the whole experience from my first clinic visit through follow-up care was great.”

Dr. Roberts performed Margaret’s hernia repair with a robotic-assisted, minimally invasive procedure, which did not require an overnight hospital stay.

“This has been a life-changing experience for me,” Margaret says. “I know I would not have been able to get this high-quality surgery in Italy’s public health care system. I would highly recommend Dr.

Roberts and the Riverwood team to others.”

Your Hernia Your Choice

At the Hernia Specialists of Minnesota, we recognize that there is one thing many patients with hernias are not offered, choice. For decades we have prided ourselves in working together with our patients through a shared decision-making process to develop a treatment plan. We offer a wide range of repair and reinforcement options allowing us to do what is right for you.

For an appointment for hernia care, call Riverwood at 218-927-6904. For more information go to https://herniaspecialistsmnriverwood.org