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I’m so furious and depressed … I can’t understand why doctors use mesh!
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All doctors should be familiar with this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath#%22First_do_no_harm%22Doing an operation on somebody that is reasonably likely to cause pain, when there are safe procedures available is totally and completely unethical. If a doctor lacks the skills to do a tissue repair, then he/she should recommend that the patient visit another doctor. Doctors don’t help patients by causing harm.
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“It allows general surgeon to do also hernia repIr with less re-occurrences” that is why mesh has become the first choice. Google yourself for it. And it is a constant flow of money for the producers
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Absolutely true
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The main complaint I have with the way hernias are commonly treated in the USA is the inability or unwillingness of most doctors to assess risk. I have read countless stories of people like myself who have suffered immensely after having a mesh-based hernia repair. I have not read a single story from anybody that had a tissue repair. Given the possible (very serious!) complications with mesh, there is no reason to use mesh as a first option. A logical conservative treatment of a small hernia would be to begin with a tissue repair. Any other course of action is cavalier and irresponsible.
Also, the commonly used line: “most patients tolerate the mesh just fine,” is NOT a proper justification for using mesh. Most people that flew in a 737 Max tolerated their flight just fine too. But, at least the FAA had the sense to step in when it became clear there was a serious problem with that plane. I see very little willingness from anybody in the US medical industry to step up and address the very serious problems that mesh causes.
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I had contact with a German doctor and I asked what if the hernia is too big for a good tissue repair, then he would use an absorbable mesh also. The strength deoesn’t sem to be provided by the mesh itself but the scar tissue that grows on it. Maybe the ideal would be tissue repair + absorbable mesh. The best of both worlds?
What you also often read is that the introdcution of the mesh allowed less skilled/good surgeons do successfully hernia repairs. It was thus never in the patients interests that the mesh is being used.
Maybe more prevention and research should be done to identify us patients before we get a hernia actually.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by Wim.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 2 months ago by
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Hi James,
The way I see it, it is not so much why they use mesh: what really makes me wonder is why many doctors (this is true I believe) would talk about mesh as a very safe, secure and complications free medical device. There are situations where mesh is the best option, and I would even be inclined to acknowledge that a doctor might not know any other way to fix an hernia…However, this does not mean that they should sell it the way they do, this is truly unacceptable!
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It also sounds like you may have just had another operation on that side within the last couple months? Maybe it’s obvious to you the discomfort is the same discomfort you’ve been dealing with all this time. But I wonder if maybe you need a couple more months more of recovery to be sure.
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Very sorry to hear this.
The only thing I can say is that I’ve heard that strange pains can come and go for quite a while. One and a half to two years.
What types of strange sensations are you having at the moment? And what was the strengthening operation? I assume the area felt weaker after removal?
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As someone who suffers from this myself, the story about your fingertip was really uplifting.
Obviously it’s not the same as a mesh removal with possible neurectomy but a similar situation. Noone really talks about how long it takes to fully heal from a hernia surgery, much less a mesh removal. It’s just about how long it takes to get back to work and for the post surgical pain to subside.
But after so much trauma it might take decades to come close to full healing, especially with nerves.Also about why doctors use it…
I can say that at least in Germany there is a strong financial incentive to use the quickest (and thus generally cheapest) method, regardless of outcome. Surgeons get paid by the amount of surgeries, not the quality.
Also I have read about mesh companies inviting surgeons to breakfast buffets, holidays and offering other presents…
That’s as much as is public.
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