The smoke screen that is the recurrance rate

[Chuck]

Folks this is something I dont understand to this day…it has to be the most nonsensical manipulated number there is –the hernia recurrance rate. Doctors just pull these numbers out of the A**** frequently with no detail on what they mean…Peterson says i ahave a 2.6 percent recurrance rate…but for how long? how is he tracking it? what is the follow-up….Mesh is supposed to have a 2 percent recurrance rate…or is it 10 percent…or is it 15 percent…i have seen numbers all over the board for this. Maybve shouldice clinic can be trusted…but i wonder if they even follow their patients longterm…how can they people move die etc….bottom line as watchful and Bryant have recognized the area of nernia surgery is complex and misleading…there is little good data and everyone is fibbing….the best we can do is find the best surgeon on the planet…and pray

[MarkT]

There could probably be a lengthy discussion regarding data (and why there isn’t great data) but ultimately, your conclusion is probably the best advice.

Find the best surgeon you can…which includes them having a lot of experience and ongoing frequency performing a particular repair and being sufficiently knowledgeable (and forthcoming) about other repair options to explain why that one is suitable/best for you.

Part of the problem is deciding on the type of repair though…but until there is sufficiently nuanced data that factors in the many potentially relevant patient, hernia, and surgeon characteristics that might influence complication, recurrence, and chronic pain rates, we don’t get as much direction at the individual decision-making level as we would like.

[Author]

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