Alternatives to mesh

John,

If you are looking for a pure tissue repair from my research over the last 3.5 years is the Desarda and the Shouldice. Guarnieri in Italy is another tension-free repair that can be performed without mesh. The Desarda technique uses your own tissue and the sutures are dis-solvable so you are left with “NO” foreign body. The Shouldice uses a SS316 alloy. Test yourself for Nickle as there will be four layers with these sutures permanently inside your tissue. The Shouldice Hospital has impressive numbers over time. The Desarda is new to the U.S. and Dr. Tomas has increased his number of repairs. As far as accuracy of re-occurrence, who would know if the stats are accurate because many patients do not return to the performing physician, and the physicians in most cases do not offer a free surgery if it re-occurs. The Shouldice Hospital is very secure and confident and you can ask them about what they would do if it reoccurred.

Do your research and do not be discouraged from asking educated questions. This is your body and your life.