I had a lumpectomy with Dr Peter Jamieson a few weeks ago at Desert Regional Hospital in Palm Springs. I was sent to him, in-network, by my insurer after a couple of lumps were found in my breast and the ensuing biopsy showed up pre-cancerous cells. Being passed along that way is a crapshoot so I pored over the reviews. Dr Jamieson's reviews fluctuate the extremes, so I'm making sure my honest one is here as testament.
It had already been a long and arduous journey from the abnormal mammogram to sitting in the surgeon's office for the first time. Said journey had also involved a traumatic biopsy experience (somewhere else) that had left me with a hematoma and anxiety.
Brief as the initial consultation was with Dr Jamieson, he was effective at winning my confidence in his knowledge and simultaneously managed to put to rest a lot of my anxieties. The support staff were polite and helpful and waits were extremely minimal. Staff also actually answer phones - no recorded prompts.
Operating day went off without a hitch. Initial preparations at the Comprehensive Breast Center at Desert Regional Hospital, which included a wire localization went very smoothly. I was more nervous about this step than the actual surgery after that dreadful biopsy experience. Shout out to Dr Conston and Jessica! A big thank you to nurse Chantell, for all the welcomed hand-holding and genuine comforting. Getting to the operating wing, again, there was barely any waiting around.
Staff were friendly, respectful, informative and efficient. The Doc popped in. I felt very comfortable the whole time. The anesthesiologist was smart and fun and her magic cocktail had my lights out before I ever saw the doctor again. I woke up cozy, what felt like 5 minutes later, feeling very rested and like nothing had happened but for curious clues on my body.
My recovery has been incredibly fast and unexpectedly low pain. I didn't touch any prescribed narcotics, subsisting for a couple of days on Tylenol and ice packs. That's all that was needed and I'm positive this is due to Dr Jamieson's deft handiwork coupled with my decent level of health and fitness.
Seeing the big, gnarly, old-school, stitches poking out of a large incision on my little breast has been confronting. But the incision looked healthy and calm throughout, no bruising or discoloration even. I showed the wound to a couple of friends who have been through this exact surgery and they were both amazed at how good and advanced in healing it looked. In time, I'm sure some topical Vitamin E and Egyptian Magic Balm will help leave it all a distant memory.
Followup check up a week post-surgery, was fast and came with the vast relief of an all-clear cancer result. A week after that, there was another check in with Dr Jamieson who removed a couple of stitches before deciding the rest weren't ready. Finally, today, the rest were removed - closure for a precarious 6 moth chapter of my life.
Hopefully, I will never see this man again. But if I have to have someone cut me open and stitch me up in the future, at least I know there's a surgeon, a team and a facility I can trust to do a good job of it. read more
