Reply To: How long can inguinal hernia repair be expected to last

[Jnomesh]

I’m glad you have made the decision to wait and also came to a decision on how to proceed if/when you need surgery.
my last 2 cents will be when you take any advice from anybody make sure they are apples to apples. WasinTn was very nice to offer his experience and knowledge concerning his hernia repair journey-although I don’t understand the genetic statement-yes if family members have had hernias there is a greater chance you may have one too but that doesn’t in my opinion have anything to do with recurrences-a hernia by definition is due to weakness. But i degrees.
WasinTn had an open procedure I know this Bc this is what doctor Goodyear does-open procedures. Yours if/when you have it done will be robotic assisted laparoscopic surgery. They are very different and recovery is very different.
i have had both procedures my first was open placed mesh on the right side and my second was laparoscopic on the left side and my mesh removal on the left was performed by robotic assisted laparoscopic.
recovery from open repair is longer and more painful in the area of operation-you are being directly cut open with muscle dissected in the area laparoscoic repair the recover and pain is easier at the site of the repair but three small incisions are made in the abdomen and your stomach is inflated with Co2. With robotic asssisted repair these incisions are bigger. The biggest issue with recovery is recovering from the bloating from the gas-it is not fun. It can also mess with you appetite, indigestion etc. in 2-4 weeks if all goes well you will be fine with either type of repair. Laparoscopic repair has to be done under general anesthesia which carries more risk although minimal. Open can use local anesthesia.
so why do I bring this up? Bc it is important to know that these are two very different surgeries albeit with the same goal in mind.
laparoscopic places the mesh at its deepest level and almost always uses a bigger piece of mesh than open. When your stomach is inflated the repair is done from behind the abdominal wall and incision is made in the perotineim. With the mesh being placed this way it is very close to many other structures, the bladder and your intestines to name a few. This can be a disadvantage if something should go wrong-as I mentioned my mesh had to be peeled of my bladder, spermatic cord and the colon was pressed up against it causing bowel problems and urinary problems.
When I was having my mesh removed I met another man who also was having his removed Bc the mesh had attached to his appendix. The only thing separating your intestines from the mesh is your peritneum.
Again I bring this up Bc WasinTN had his done openly and your surgery will be a different surgery. Statistically you should do fine with either but I bring this up Bc this is another detail you should research and look into-the pros and cons of open vs laparoscopic hernia repair.
finally robotic assisted laparoscopic repair has a lot of advantages including as you mentioned a 3D camera-but again your surgery will only be as good as your surgeons experience-as how many robotic surgeries he has done and decide which procedure you think will be best for you based on your research. There are pros and cons to both.
i just think too often hernia surgery is passed off to the consumer as no big deal and we jist usually go with whatever the surgeon says and does.
WasinTN did his research and has had a good outcome-he went with a expert who only does one thing and does it well and traveled to accomplish this.
So I encourage you since you have the time to continue to do your research and ask as many questions as you can. I know that the north penn institute where dr. Goodyear is from they do mesh removal (only open removal Bc that’s what they specialize in)
so as you can see this isn’t just about mesh or no mesh but method-open vs laparoscopic vs robotic assisted laparoscopic