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  • Pure Tissue Repair

    Posted by Kelly Magee on April 16, 2020 at 9:10 pm

    Hi….

    New member here….long-time lurker. Very thankful this place exists. I did a tremendous amount of research (quite a lot of it here) before having my surgery January 19, 2019.

    I opted for a pure tissue repair for a double-inguinal hernia. The surgery was an open surgery under general anesthesia performed by Dr. Kevin Petersen in Las Vegas, Nevada.

    I am now age 60. Almost 15 months post-op at the time of this writing. Former Golf teaching Pro. Had to stop golfing in 2012 due to a back injury. I had resigned myself to the reality of never swinging a golf club again. I did not have any surgery performed on my lower back.

    Then….in 2018…my back healed. I took a few swings here and there and took it very easy. In October 2018 I discovered ONE of my two hernias and was back at square one yet again. Devastated.

    At that time my research began on what kind of surgery to do (mesh or no mesh) and who would do it.

    I normally weigh around 200 pounds. I am 6 feet 6 inches tall.

    By the time I got to Las Vegas for the surgery (roughly three months after discovering one of the hernias) I was nauseated 24/7, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t walk more than about 100 yards without pain in the iliac fossa areas on BOTH SIDES, even up by the iliac crests and flank areas, I had back spasms around the clock in the kidney areas on both sides, had difficulty with bowel movements, and to top it off, I couldn’t take a deep breath.

    Yeah….

    I could live with most of the aforementioned, but the not being able to catch my breath was what was tormenting me. I just dealt with it and ….hoped….until I got to Vegas for the surgery.

    The day before my operation my weight was down to 154 pounds. At six feet six inches tall it wasn’t a pretty sight.

    I apologize for being so long-winded but I feel entitled to do so….you know why? Because I’m enjoying taking DEEP breaths again! 🙂

    The recovery wasn’t a very pleasant experience. It takes time. I still have some pulling sensations here and there but for the most part I am back to normal.

    One thing for certain…as soon as I got out of the operating room and woke up ….I could breathe again! So I knew something went right!

    Annnnnd…..I can golf again. I have zero loss in distance from how far I could hit it back in 2012 when I had to stop.

    Dr Petersen’s repairs have held up. Even to my golf swing.

    I also was struck DOWN about three months ago with the worst cough I’ve ever had in my life. The cough lasted two months….the hardest coughing obviously was during the first 3-4 weeks.

    My upper abdominal muscles just below my rib cage felt as though they were TORN from this cough. I was convinced I would need another surgery …that all the coughing would destroy the repairs.

    Dr Petersen’s repairs held up.

    That’s all I can say.

    As soon as they re-open the golf courses here in California due to this pandemic I will be back out doing what I love to do.

    If any of you out there are contemplating a pure tissue or mesh surgery and are concerned that a pure tissue repair is not strong….or won’t hold up….please remember my story.

    Words can’t describe how thankful I am.

    Thanks to all of you here for your words and stories. You don’t know how much it helped me as I researched what I was going to do when I first realized I had a hernia.

    And that’s the reason I’m writing this. Maybe someone out there can’t catch their breath….or can’t walk …or is losing weight rapidly….or going through what I went through prior to my operation.

    All I can say is if anyone has any questions about what I’ve been through ….pre-op or post-op ….I would be happy to offer my feedback. Send me a message.

    Whatever you decide to do…remember hernias don’t repair themselves. They gotta get fixed.

    Yeah….it sucks ….but fixing your hernia with a surgery sucks significantly less than having to deal with it every day.

    I can walk! I can breathe! I can swing a golf club!

    And my weight is back around 190 again….

    And to Dr Kevin Petersen….if you are reading this…THANK YOU.

    Hope to hear from some of you all here !

    Kelly

    • This discussion was modified 3 years, 3 months ago by  drtowfigh.
    Kelly Magee replied 3 years, 11 months ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
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