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GI,
There was nothing wrong with my diagnosis – a very large, life-long hernia. It was correct and known from the beginning, even if the exact measurements and anatomy weren’t known until I was opened up. The only wrong thing was the type of repair. Mesh (either open or lap) should have been used rather than Shouldice.
You are correct that the problem here was that I went to a place that doesn’t tailor the type of repair, and forces Shouldice even in cases where the surgery would be difficult and with questionable outcomes. Mine didn’t even remotely qualify for Shouldice based on the European guidelines as followed by the German surgeons, so I’m pretty sure they would have used mesh.
Chuck,
You are confusing risk with certainty. They do regularly get chronic pain outcomes at Shouldice, but those are still the exception, not the rule (at least by whatever definition they use for chronic pain, which may not include very minor pain and discomfort).