Skilled, Compassionate and Bloodless Surgery at LVH–Muhlenberg Brings Health and Comfort to Red Hill Woman

Renee Herbert is grateful she found relief at Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)–Muhlenberg, a part of Jefferson Health, after suffering for several weeks with unrelenting abdominal pain. 

On May 28, controlling a surgical robot equipped with minimally invasive instruments, general surgeon Mark Nicolau, MD, with LVPG General and Bariatric Surgery, removed Herbert’s acutely inflamed gallbladder and once-perforated appendix through small incisions. Utilizing robotic surgical techniques, Dr. Nicolau was able to minimize Herbert's blood loss and promote her faster recovery.

Herbert is singing the praises of Dr. Nicolau and Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN)’s Patient Blood Management (PBM) patient liaison Darvin Coffin, who worked together with Herbert to complete her bloodless surgery in a timely manner. 

“The complete communication flow within our multidisciplinary structure, from Renee’s first consult with the bloodless surgery team through her surgery and recovery, was timely and seamless,” says Coffin. 

A 74-year-old Red Hill, Montgomery County, resident, Herbert had been treated with antibiotics at another hospital weeks before, but the stabbing agony persisted, rendering her daily life nearly unbearable.   

As a Jehovah’s Witness, Herbert reached out to Coffin to ensure she would receive only certain medicines and procedures free of blood products during surgery, if needed.

That same week, she met with Dr. Nicolau, who examined her and reviewed a computed tomography scan of the inside of her abdomen. 

The imaging showed that Herbert’s inflamed gallbladder containing multiple gallstones was causing her acute discomfort. Her appendix, which had ruptured and had been treated nonsurgically in 2022, was appropriate for removal, Dr. Nicolau determined. While hers was an elective procedure, the surgeon determined sooner treatment would be better to restore her quality of life. 

“I recommended removing both organs,” Dr. Nicolau told Herbert, who was relieved.  He assured her the surgery would be bloodless. 

“Dr. Nicolau was compassionate and clear in his explanations,” Herbert says. “I was stress free and well prepared for the surgery.” 

Just a few days later, she was in the operating room, where Dr. Nicolau skillfully guided the robot as he lifted the problematic organs through a half-inch incision. Less than one-quarter cup of blood was lost during Herbert’s surgery. 

She then took a regimen of antibiotics to clear up any lingering infection.

Within a few weeks, Herbert’s pain was gone and her loyalty to LVH–Muhlenberg, her longtime preferred hospital, stronger than ever. 

She’s again enjoying taking her 99-year-old mother shopping, altering clothes for longtime customers and spending time with her two grown daughters. 

She’s comforted knowing she made the right choice for both her health and her faith. 

“The whole process went like clockwork,” she says. 

“I feel good. I couldn’t have asked for a better doctor or a greater experience there.”