After an appointment with Danielle Cobb, MD FACS, you’re likely to leave with a recipe for a nutritious protein shake or recommendations for which multivitamins to try — not just an understanding of your treatment plan.
She’s interested in caring for the whole patient along with the hernias or other surgery needs she specializes in. And that includes ways to improve your nutrition, help you quit smoking and other suggestions that will boost your overall health.
“A lot of my patients are very active individuals who have active jobs and hobbies,” Dr. Cobb says. “It’s important for them to get back to that faster and have less down time.”
Dr. Cobb joined the Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge at Our Lady of the Lake Health in December 2022 as a general surgeon.
Originally from Houma, Dr. Cobb received her bachelor of science in biology from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and a medical degree at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
She also spent much of her residency at Our Lady of the Lake, making Baton Rouge familiar ground for Dr. Cobb.
Her main specialties are abdominal and hernia surgeries, and she has a special interest in treating women who develop hernias after pregnancy.
Excellence in Hernia Care
The Hernia Center of Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge is a highly recognized and accredited program with some of the most skilled surgeons in Louisiana. Dr. Cobb joins a team of specialized surgeons who can provide treatment for the toughest hernia cases, even for patients who have had hernia surgery before.
The team is trained in robotic surgery as well as laparoscopic, minimally invasive and incisionless surgery, providing a full scope of services to hernia patients.
Through her practice, Dr. Cobb developed an interest in research around hernias in women after pregnancy. In other countries, she says, it’s mandatory to provide a physical therapy referral to new moms to help them deal with the bulging and stretching of muscles that can happen during pregnancy.
As a new mom, Dr. Cobb experienced this herself. She developed a condition called diastasis recti, where the ab muscles separate during pregnancy from being stretched. It can make the belly stick out for months or even years after giving birth. Diastasis can be repaired through physical therapy and targeted exercises, which Dr. Cobb sought out on her own.
She says the experience was “eye-opening” to her about the need to educate women and provide them with the necessary resources for physical therapy postpartum.
When it comes to the more serious treatment of hernias and other abdominal conditions through surgery, Dr. Cobb aims to talk the patient through the process and understand the outcomes they want to see with treatment.
“I always ask patients what they do for a living and what they like to do for fun — if it’s working out or swimming or things like that. I want to get them back to the lifestyle they are accustomed to,” she says.
A Runner at Heart
When she’s not busy with patients, educating future surgeons through the LSU Health Baton Rouge Surgical Center, or spending time with her radiologist husband and 15-month-old son, you might just find Dr. Cobb running the LSU Lakes.
She was an avid runner in high school and college, participating in cross-country and track. And she continues to run today, including recently participating in the Our Lady of the Lake Tiger 10K.
She’s also an avid golfer. Dr. Cobb clearly practices what she preaches when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and it’s a practice she hopes to instill in her patients, as well.
Caring for the whole patient is also part of what attracted her to returning to Our Lady of the Lake.
“I think having that mission statement of being a Catholic hospital — it’s about treating them like family. We truly involve the whole patient,” she says. “Our patient satisfaction always really impressed me and that’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back.”
