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Is a recurrence really that big a deal?
I mean, seriously, how much do we need to worry about a recurrence? I first noticed I had a hernia in the fall of 2008, almost 15 years ago. It had probably even been slowly developing before that. Now, it’s as big as a tennis ball and needs work, but even now, it’s not something that gives me pain unless I stand in one spot for a long period of time.
So, once i have it strengthened, perhaps through tissue repair, if at all applicable in my case, and it recurs, maybe I just ride it out again. So, the actual recurrence is not the question so much as the actual eventual need to reoperate.
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10 Replies
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Watchful, sorry to hear about your Dad’s health. It’s wonderful to have your parents live into their declining years, but it’s tough to see them deal with the problems. My Dad had dry macular degeneration that eventually turned into wet. When it went wet, he had the Eyelea shots for awhile. About the time he reached 100 the scarring made the shots ineffective. His last couple of years, he could see us and hear us…..fortunately his hearing in one ear was still good…..but his seeing wasn’t good enough for him to read or watch tv. Even then, for the most part he seemed to be glad to be alive.
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David M,
His original hernia was indirect, but I’m not sure about the type of hernia for the recurrence. He never bothered having it looked at. When he reached his 70s, he decided not to treat anything surgically unless absolutely necessary. He was having severe spine issues, prostate issues, kidney stone issues, etc. When you have all that, where do you even start? His thinking was that his body was turning into a clunker, and it is what it is. Trying to fix it is just playing whac-a-mole and likely to lead to more grief.
He agreed to cataract surgery, but even that wasn’t all that helpful because he suffers from macular degeneration as well. He got bad dry eye from the surgery, but not much benefit. To be fair, I don’t know what I would have done either. He was a living medical encyclopedia of bad but not lethal medical conditions. Largely pointless to treat this or that when you have 10 other things. Now he has congestive heart failure on top of it all.
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Hello David, no my dad has never bothered with a repair – he doesn’t want surgery.
Also I think Watchful’s father left the recurrence and did not have it repaired either.
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William, is your dad’s current hernia a recurrence? If so, can you give more details (if you know) about the size and the condition. Also, do you know if it is indirect or direct?
Watchful, do you know if your dad’s hernia is indirect or direct? Did he leave it as a result of his other health conditions. Your post makes it seem like it would have been preferable to get it fixed at some point, but perhaps that hasn’t been possible.
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He was in his early or mid 70s when it recurred – not sure exactly.
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What age was it when it recurred?
My dad’s 91. Has has his hernia for about 5 years. He just carries on
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“Not Safe for Work”
Yeah, he left it. He’s 86 now, and suffers from multiple more serious medical conditions.
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What does nsfw mean?
Did your dad have it repaired again Watchful? I have a, probably misguided, memory he left it?
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The recurrence can be a lot worse than what you had originally. This was the case with my dad. His hernia which recurred years after tissue repair became very large and overwhelmed the entire area. I won’t go into NSFW details. Not something anyone would want to deal with.
Recurrences can also be harder to fix effectively.
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This reply was modified 10 months ago by Watchful.
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This reply was modified 10 months ago by
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Recurrence seems to be the main concern of the surgical and medical world. Whereas patients main concern is usually wanting to avoid chronic pain.
Id prefer to have to have two repairs and no pain rather than a single fix and long term pain. I’m sure most would feel the same.
I’ve forgotten what surgery you were considering and which surgeon!
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