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Best surgeons for mesh removal?
Hello fellow sufferers and hernia experts.
I had my open mesh repair surgery 17 Months ago with the lichtenstein technique. Since the surgery im in chronic pain and close to suicide. I searched for surgeons around the World and before i go in another Operation i hope someone can give me some advice and answers. Please Correct me if im wrong with the following list.
Surgeons i found.
Dr. Petersen in Las Vegas
Dr. Igor Belyansky in Maryland
Dr. Shirin Towfigh im sure everyone knew her here.
Dr. Kang in Korea removed around 50 Meshes he said on YT.
Shouldice Hospital in Ontario Canada.
Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck in Germany.
Dr. Robert Thomas in Desarda Hernia centre in USA. He said 2019 “20% of patients will continue with pain after the surgery but majority will have less pain from the surgery”
I don’t know who from all these surgeons i should choose.
I live in Germany so Muschawek could make sense. I read on her website that: “The IONR technique made it possible, to eliminate the chronic pain in 98 percent of all cases – referring to patients who suffered chronic groin pain after an inguinal hernia surgery.”
Can this be really true? 98% sounds too good to be true. This IONR (intraoperative nerve response) sounds like an improved triple neurectomy. Is there any one of these Surgeons who don’t do a neurectomy or is it common/necessary too cut the nerves. I read a lot of horror storys about mesh removal and triple neurectomy so i don’t know what to do. I can’t live with the mesh pain right now if i don’t go in another surgery for pain relief i will choose the easy way out with a noose.-
This discussion was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by
Lucas S.
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This discussion was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by
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52 Replies
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Ben – who are you referring to?
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I’m wondering if you suffered the exact same fate I did. There was a young guy with your name who got surgery the same day I did, by the psychopath who crippled me. Country and time of surgery fit.
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If you can get up to the Seattle area Dr. Peter Billing is a good choice. He removed my mesh. Dr. Andrew Wright at the University of Washington is also good, apparently. Someone who has posted here had him remove theirs.
https://www.transformweightloss.com/
https://www.transformweightloss.com/services/hernia-surgery
https://www.uwmedicine.org/bios/andrew-wright
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This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by Good intentions.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 8 months ago by
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Peter C had an unfortunate experience. His problems seemed unusual from the start.
MeshMangledMerrit had a better experience.
https://herniatalk.com/forums/topic/hernia-mesh-hell-for-almost-15-years/
https://herniatalk.com/forums/topic/had-surgery-today-with-dr-brown/
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My decision making clock is ticking and I hope to hear back.
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Can people tell me whether they’ve had experience with Dr. William Brown in CA? I am contemplating mesh removal surgery for chronic pain and have heard very good things about Dr. Brown. I’m eager for any and all input.
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That’s right. Until you are as sure as you can be I would wait. In my case choosing Dr Belyansky was a mistake; one that will haunt me for a very long time. While he has helped many others here, in my particular scenario he was the wrong choice. I’m still trying to pick up the pieces a year later.
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Thank you ajm222 for this input. I cannot afford to make the wrong decision about who to see next. It’s so discouraging to me that the most common surgery performed today is so difficult to find reliable help for when something goes wrong.
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Re: Dr. Chen – I have heard mixed things. He seems to be a big proponent of cutting nerves to improve pain and people have very different experiences with this – some good, some really bad. I initially had thought he was one of the top people for these issues, but others have told me they’ve seen a number of bad outcomes from surgery with him. So I can’t say for sure from my own experience, but I would advise caution.
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This is actually a question a patient should ask the surgeon before mesh surgery i.e. if problems arise, will you be able to remove the mesh, and if not do you have a plan to tackle the problems? (referral to a colleague etc)…
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This will be difficult to determine but try to find a surgeon who can afford to, and will, take the time to get the mesh out without cutting things that don’t need to be cut. As Dr. Ramshaw recently wrote, the medical industry today is about throughput. Get the patients in and out quickly. This is actually a big reason for the rise in mesh implantations, I think. It’s simple and quick.
If a surgeon has scheduled an hour for mesh removal and has patients waiting for him/her after your procedure then the decision to take the time to tease the nerve away from the mesh or cut it leans toward cutting if it looks like they are running behind schedule.
When I had mesh removal by Dr. Billing, he planned for up to three hours to remove the mesh, per side.
In an ideal world, the requirements for removing a mesh device would be considered before implanting the mesh device. But the reality today is that it’s somebody else’s problem after it’s implanted. Good luck.
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Another Dr. I’ve seen who specializes in post-op pain is Dr. David Chen at UCLA. After nearly a year, I need to make a decision soon and if anyone’s had experience with Dr. Chen it’d be helpful to hear your experience.
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@chronicpain
Lucas S,
There is no need to travel. There are wonderful surgeon options in Germany: Muschaweck, Conze, Koch.For mesh removal during a Lichtenstein, selective neurectomy may be necessary, as the process of mesh removal itself may cause nerve injury.
I’m not an advocate of laparoscopic triple neurectomy. As @momof4 mentioned, it can denervate the abdominal wall, resulting in potentially irreversible asymmetric bulging.
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I’ve been sitting on the sidelines mostly this past year – reading other people’s stories. I had my hernia mesh removed last year and I was one of the unlucky ones. Bad outcome. I had two previous hernia repair attempts; one in 2018 to place mesh laparoscopically for a left inguinal hernia and then a “groin exploration “ to try to figure out the reason for my post op pain. Nothing worked and I was passed from one doctor to the next. Surgeons, Urologists, pain management specialists, psychologists. I tried everything including acupuncture. Injections, therapy, medication. Still the pain persisted. Eventually I sought out one of the best mesh removal surgeons in the country. I understood most of the risks and I had the mesh removed. Nerves were cut also. I now regret it everyday. It was horribly invasive and destructive. My spermatic cord and testicle were irreparably injured. My pain is worse than ever. I long to turn back the clock. It was A horrible decision. The surgeon is long gone having discharged me and leaving me to figure this out on my own. If you’ve had a successful removal – congratulations. If you’re thinking about having it done, pick a top flight surgeon, ask lots of questions and get multiple opinions. The damage can’t always be undone!
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I went to Vincera but saw Dr Poor his associate. Tough place to do business with long wait times. It’s a mob scene.
I’ll throw Dr Jacobs name into the mix. He is in NYC but charges for his services. He quoted me $12,000 a few years ago. Dr Belyansky ultimately removed my mesh and I have still not recovered and probably won’t at this point. And yes – he DOES cut nerves. Don’t be fooled. He’ll tell you later on he had to do it but I seriously doubt it and will never know. Meanwhile I’ve spent the last year trying to find someone who can undo his damage. He gets high marks on this site but not from me. -
Has anyone used Dr. William Meyers at the Vincera Institute for mesh removal surgery? He was recommended to me as an expert in groin anatomy and repair of “sports hernias” and after seeing 9 surgeons around the country following mesh hernia repair almost a year ago, left with chronic and debilitating nerve pain, I am increasingly desperate to find someone who can resolve what must be related to the mesh.
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Apparently my surgeon didn’t
Know about it either -
Did not know genital branch also innervated the dartos muscle or such thing even existed…
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I don’t know the answer to that. Maybe one of the doctors will answer
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I am wondering, do surgeons also cut nerves when placing a mesh with open surgery? Or is this only a pure tissue problem?
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