Kris Deters

Kris researched da Vinci surgery, knowing “knowledge is power.”

Kris Deters, 40, has been a dancer since grade school. She went on to become a member and eventually team captain and choreographer of the Sauk Rapids-Rice High School dance team. After high school, she taught precision, jazz and hip hop at Just for Kix in St. Cloud. However, Kris ultimately had to stop teaching because of the growth of her business, K.D. Designs, and her problems with fibroid tumors. 

“When dancing,” said Kris, “I would feel dizzy and I was afraid I would pass out from blood loss and lack of iron.”

In 2001, she sought the help of David Kroska, M.D., an OB/GYN with CentraCare Clinic – Women & Children. He recommended a myomectomy, the surgical removal of fibroids in the uterus.

Kris’s myomectomy went very well. Dr. Kroska performed the procedure traditionally, with a long horizontal incision on Kris’s abdomen, similar to that of a C-section. As with most traditional surgeries, it took Kris six weeks to recover. She felt sore when getting up and moving around, and she spent a lot of time off her feet. However, she recovered on schedule and went back to her normal activities.

Unfortunately, in 2006 the fibroids grew back again, bringing with them heavy bleeding, bloating, tiredness, pain and pressure. This time Dr. Kroska recommended the robotic-assisted, minimally invasive da Vinci Hysterectomy. Kris did her research by talking to friends and reading about the procedure online. “For me,” said Kris, “knowledge is power.” She scheduled the surgery for April 7, 2009.

On the day of surgery, Kris remembers waking up from the anesthesia and wondering, “Did I have my surgery?” Unlike the myomectomy, she had only five little incisions, each about a half inch long, a shorter hospital stay, reduced pain and a faster recovery.

Since the surgery, Kris has felt more energetic. She has started swimming and dancing again. She continues to have a positive attitude about life, crediting this outlook to her participation in dance. “You can go far in life with a positive attitude,” said Kris. “It helped me get through my fibroid problems and surgeries.”