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Can Shouldice repair cause hernia on the other side?
A friend went to see a doc in ohio recently who said he could do a shouldice but recommended mesh. He told my friend that doing a shouldice repair on one side of the body made it likely that another hernia would appear on the other side within a period of time due to the groin tension caused by the original shouldice. I thought he must have been mistaken but another friend mentioned that he was told the same thing. Does anyone know if this is true? If so is this an argument for pursuing a lichtenstien repair?
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2 Replies
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No, this ‘my friend said…’ post does not change the algorithm, because further information is needed.
1. Does this increased risk actually exist, and (if so) is it unique to Shouldice?
2. If so, what is the natural risk and what is the increased risk?
3. How does this increased risk factor into the overall list of risks/benefits associated with Shouldice and the other repair options?(You can get even deeper into the weeds and wonder if the increased risk is the same for every Shouldice patient or does it depend upon certain surgeon/patient/hernia factors, but we’ll keep it simple).
I’ll give you an example of how a context-free ‘increased risk’ claim is not only unhelpful, but might even lead you to make the wrong decision for yourself.
As part of a broader talk years ago, a statistician recounted her doctor advising her to have an induced (vs. natural) childbirth to avoid ‘doubling the risk of miscarriage’ in her situation.
That sounds scary as heck, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t that be an EASY decision? Surely she would want to avoid DOUBLING her risk of having a miscarriage, right?
Not so fast. It turned out the natural risk was 1 in 1000 (0.1%), so the doubling only resulted in the risk rising to 2 in 1000 (0.2%). Coupled with other reasons (which relates to my third question), she elected not to be induced.
Context matters.
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friend who went to shouldice just confirmed they warned him of this, that shouldice repair can cause the other side to herniate first i have heard this. Does this change the algorythm
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