Surgeon in NYC area and surgery advice

[RichM]

Hi All,

Just after some advice. I’ve just been diagnosed with indirect inguinal hernia (see full details below) and I’ve started looking into my options. I’ve only recently moved to America, so I am still working out the best places to find information. I stumbled across (is that possible on the web?) this forum, which looks respectable and knowledgeable about this field. I was hoping for some advice in the following areas/questions:

1. Recommendation for (the best? :cool:) hernia surgeon in the NYC area?
2. Do you recommend any specific type of operation to fix this? There seems to be a lot of debate about mesh / long term impact / mesh being recalled etc. I’m 37 male that’s always done a lot of sports (tennis, cycling, gym) – I’ve never really lifted heavy weights and I am not over weight. Oh and I haven’t had kids yet either… and I’d like to continue to do all of the above once fixed! :p
3. What sort of recovery time should I plan for (an average?)

Hope you can point me in the right direction… thanks!
The findings were:
There’s an indirect fat-containing inguinal hernia, which measures 4.0 x 0.7 x 1.0 cm (craniocaudad, AP, transverse dimensions) in supine position with Valsalva maneuvers. The hernia sac does not significantly change in size with the patient moved in upright position, and there is also no protrusion of bowel into the hernia sac during Valsalva maneuvres.
During Valsalva, there is ventral protrusion of the posterior inguinal wall towards (but not beyond) the anterior margin of the rectus abdominis muscles; these findings are consistent with posterior inguinal wall deficiency. There is no direct inguinal hernia.
The visualized rectus abdominis muscle is normal in echotexture and echogenicity.
Impression: Ultrasound of the left groin demonstrates:

1. Small fat-containing indirect inguinal hernia
2. Findings of posterior inguinal wall deficiency. No direct inguinal hernia.

Rich

[drtowfigh]

Yeah! Thanks for appreciating this forum!

There are excellent hernia specialists in NY. These include many who have been named on this forum, including Dr. Brian Jacob, Dr. George Ferzli, Dr. Steven Goldstein.

The type of repair is a highly personal choice. There are risks and benefits for each type of repair. Also, each surgeon has his/her own best outcome from repairs they may recommend. In general, both laparoscopic and open mesh repairs are considered standard options.

[RichM]

Thanks Dr Towfigh – after some research I too found Dr. Brian Jacob. I’ve an appointment booked with him for the end of Aug. I’ll keep the thread updated with how I get on.

My doctor told me not to exercise, so I’ve only been walking but reading around the forums, exercise seems to be encouraged e.g. spinning and ab exercises seem to be good options. Do you think there’s any risk in my going back to some light form of these two?

[drtowfigh]

Please exercise! It is good for hernias… at the least, it keeps the muscles around the hernia strong and may even reduce symptoms.

[Author]

Posts