“My pregnancy with Amir was complicated. I have fibroids on my uterus and fallopian tube, which has given me horrible cramping and pain since I was a teenager. This made my pregnancy higher risk and nobody expected me to carry to term,” remembers Sehdeen.

Sehdeen’s journey at Humber River Hospital started in the Apotex Emergency Department (ED) where a fibroid in her uterus had put so much pressure on a kidney that it led to an infection. While Sehdeen was being treated for the infection in the ED, she learned she was pregnant.

“My pregnancy with Amir was complicated. I have fibroids on my uterus and fallopian tube, which has given me horrible cramping and pain since I was a teenager. This made my pregnancy higher risk and nobody expected me to carry to term,” remembers Sehdeen.

Dr. André LaRoche, Chief of Obstetrics & Gynaecology at Humber, was leading Sehdeen’s care. Due to her fibroids and other complicating factors, the best course of action for her care was to coordinate several departments working together to ensure the safety of both mom and baby.

Obstetrics, Paediatrics and Interventional Radiology were all on standby for the C-Section. Since fibroids pull in extra blood supply to the uterus, balloon pumps were inserted at the hips before the C-Section to reduce blood flow to the uterus and mitigate the chance of Sehdeen bleeding too much during the surgery. Units of blood were prepared just in case Sehdeen needed it.

After the surgery, Sehdeen experienced heavy bleeding which required an iron transfusion as well as medication to help the bleeding stop. She was able to go home with her son, Amir, several days later.

Fast forward 9 months and Sehdeen has returned to Humber and back to Dr. LaRoche who used the da Vinci Surgical Robot to remove her fibroids. She asked Dr. LaRoche to leave one fibroid (the one on her fallopian tube) so she could continue to have children in the future.

Only a few days later, Amir was admitted to a hospital downtown. Thanks to the quicker healing time offered by this minimally invasive procedure using the da Vinci Surgical Robot, Sehdeen had recovered enough to be at Amir’s bedside.

Only a few days later, Amir was admitted to a hospital downtown. Thanks to the quicker healing time offered by this minimally invasive procedure using the da Vinci Surgical Robot, Sehdeen had recovered enough to be at Amir’s bedside.  “If I had any other surgery, I don’t think I could have been there for him. I’m so grateful I was at Humber with the technology to perform this procedure,” says Sehdeen. Now, Amir is feeling better and Sehdeen is too. She says, “my quality of life has gone up so much. I’ve taken pain medication for the fibroids since I was a teenager, but after the surgery, I felt great.”

“Dr. LaRoche is my favourite person. There were highs and lows to my pregnancy and he helped me get through it all. I still see him now for regular checkups. He goes above and beyond. I have one of the best doctors there is!”

The da Vinci Surgical Robot is the centerpiece of the Murphy and Helen Hull Robotics Centre at Humber River Hospital. The Centre was established thanks to a transformational donation from the late Murphy and Helen Hull.