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future of inguinal repair and PT
Groundfaller
From the posts here I could not grasp if you already had surgery or planning to have. I have to admit I did not read it fully but will share my experience here.Around 2007 I found that I had inguinal hernia on right side and my PCP said I should be careful – not dangerous at that time but it can grow. I ignored his advice. During my 2013 overseas trip I had no pain but before flying my PCP again said I should be careful. As dumb as Lloyd Christmas in ‘dumb and dumber’ movie I ignored it again. Back in the USA I jogged, ran and even played Basketball. I noticed a bulge then in the area just above the base of penis and below the belly button. It was painful. However hard I tried to hold it, caress it or do whatever , the pain remained. If I had to use slightest force during my bowel movements, it was like hell. This was till July 2014. By then hernia was dictating my life on what I should eat, if I should walk, and whether I can talk louder or laugh heartily. No kidding. I felt miserable.
I went to two local surgeons and both confirmed it was hernia on a scale of 5/10, 10 being the stragulated case that needed ER. The second surgeon appeared keen to cut my sensitive area and ready to operate but when I asked questions about what material the mesh is made of etc he was scratching his head. When he walked his pants had no belt and I did not feel he was good enough to touch my sensitive areas. I wanted someone who could speak with authority on what he planned to do. I choose a famous surgeon far way from my home and went to him. Glad I went to him. He saw me at 9 AM and surgery was over by 12 NOON and I walked out (yes walked out) with my family at 1 PM. Two weeks of home stay and walking regularly and I was back to work. Post surgery the surgeon advised me to keep walking. I kept walking whenever possible – including at midnight when I woke up.
After surgery my digestion improved, my hernia pains are gone and I am hale and hearty. The surgeon did a super job with just a 3″ cut. Now after 5 months I have some hardness at the cut area since scar tissue is still healing and I found that it heals differently in different people. I have some itch when I walk/run but no restrictions. I am good.
I also did exercizes before going to the surgeon assuming that I can avoid the surgery. Nah, it does not work. Not for me. There are some stories on Internet that somebody got cured without surgery and all but I do not beleive them anymore because the hernia is a defect already in the pelvic floor and should be corrected – surgically. By eating less, stopping breakfast and all those things will not cure the already formed defect. Body cannot obviously repair itself in some case. this is not something a broken bone which can probably repair itself.
As for diagnosis, there is really no foolproof method to find you have a hernia. The fingers of the best surgeon when placed under your pubic area and when you cough he can find that. Having said that he can find does not mean he will say surgery is an urgent thing for you. If anyone with hernia wants to postpone surgery I understand that part but from my experience I can tell you that it was waste of time to postpone surgery. The hernia will only grow. It is the intestine coming down the weakened layer of your tissue.
I also wanted to do a Desarda method in FL but backed off because hernia is our genes. My dad had it and never had surgery and my brother had it and got surgery. So without mesh if I had surgery probably my genes would have made the hernia re-appear. No good. I did not want to take a risk of recurrence.
In the end, you are RIGHT. The skill of surgeon matters a LOT. That was the reason I choose this surgeon. He did hundreds of surgeries and is doing them on daily basis even now. He uses an innovative method of mesh. Super friendly guy and excellent surgeon.
I can go on and on. BTW I am not a medical professional. So all this is my personal bragging ONLY.