Best surgeon to fix recurring hernia after mesh removal?

[pinto]

I didn’t see it as offense to Kang, for I thought you spoke with Stephen. Posters here have applauded him. I highly regard both gentlemen but of course each person will make their own decision. I just hoped that some superficiality wasn’t getting in the way. Again, please see my rebuttal to Watchful’s mention of recurrence. As much as I appreciate Watchful, and I do, one shouldn’t believe everything they read. About my own case, as I stated elsewhere at HT, Kang thought the cause might have been faulty absorbable suturing. About the upset you referred to. It was real but happened during covid and was purely a function of the frailty of human communications. As I have mentioned multiple times throughout HT I highly trust them and so went back. Don’t let that phone call deter you. You might consider re-engaging and try getting further consultation. I hope my post helps.

[Harry]

Pinto I meant no offense to the great Dr Kang. But that was pretty much my return message. It just didnt give me a warm fuzzy. No discussion of how they have experience with this etc. You must have been disconcerted by your near immediate recurrance. It really is the only real blemish on the kang record though watchful cites a bunch of folks waiting for recurrant repairs. Why do you think you recurred? Was it Dr Kang’s fault in any way? What did he say the reason was. The traffic on here indicates you were at least moderately upset at the time.

[pinto]

You mention Watchful’s recurrence note but apparently you did not read my rebuttal. You ought to. No experienced surgeon on earth has a perfect record. You ought to read my reviews about the Kang repairs, as they should suffice as to why I went there. Along with that, I share the same reasons as Good intentions mentions in his post above. BTW, Harry, your description above of the non-Native English was a bit over the top, don’t you think? Others here at HT have remarked how fluent he is. And he is. Going abroad will require us to communicate internationally, usually outside of our comfort zone. If you were happen to have Western bias, then it would be to your detriment surely in this case.

[Harry]

Gi/Pinto thanks. Pinto yes stephen was very responsive. But it was kind of a simple response. Kang great come to kang he fix you. Watchful bailed on kang because he read about recurrances. You yourself had a recurrance from kang. If he is so great – why did you have an immediate recurrance? No offense intended. Just trying to understand. It seems like there are really no good answers.

[pinto]

@Harry, that phone call might have seemed salesy but it’s more of confidence from having immense success over many years. You would do well by reconsidering it.

[Good intentions]

My first inclination to go with Dr. Kang is based on the interactions over the years on this forum. You really should just search his name and go back to the early posts on the forum and follow them up to today. He started his career in hernia repair as a patch and plug mesh practitioner. He saw the damage that the plug caused as patients started coming back with problems. He went back to the pure tissue repair and studied the problems that were being expressed about it. He is of the opinion that the problems with early methods like the Bassini repair are due to surgeons modifying (cutting corners) on the original method. He calls today’s Bassini repair the corrupted Bassini method. Apparently, as I understand things, the method he uses today is based on those early proven methods, but with his own subtle changes, based on his years of experience performing hernia repairs. And he addresses each situation based on what he finds during surgery, besides having what looks like a very modern set of imaging machines so that he knows what to expect before he even starts. Unlike many surgeons today who promise to wing it to the best of their ability if they find something unexpected.

But, to be frank, Dr Wiese looked like a good option also. I added a few posts to another thread after Freeman posted about him.

One odd problem that you’ll find when discussing the big names in hernia repair is that many of them got roped in to creating the “International guidelines for groin hernia management”, the sponsored effort by Ethicon and Bard, two big mesh makers at the time. Which begin by stating that mesh repair is the preferred hernia repair method. But with very little supporting data for that claim. Each surgeon who was part of that effort has their name tied to the document that has pushed mesh on to the world, and several of them seem to be walking back their support. But the Guidelines have become gospel in the world of hernia repair. The standard of care.

In short, there is no clear answer. You have to use a blend of personal and professional trust to make a choice. Honest well-meaning people can be fooled also.

[Unknown Member]

Very tough call – I hope watchful weighs in. Kang was quite confident he could fix my hernia no issue…… I almost went to him for the removal. I don’t know why I trust him but I do. It seems like the Germans mostly do Shouldice repairs –but Mike M still feels something a year after a Kang repair. While he says its nothing —it is still concerning. Maybe a perfect result is just not possible.