[Chaunce123]

My hernia recovery

gnarfle, Thanks for sharing your recovery story, this is helpful to other patients.

Do you mind sharing some additional details about your case? How old are you? Are you physically active or sedentary? Was your hernia painful before surgery? Was it obvious to diagnose or did it require imaging? Have you noticed any change in symptoms pre-op to post-op?

Thanks again, keep us updated as you heal. Best of luck.

[Chaunce123]

NEW! HerniaTalk site coming soon…

A few general ideas for the Hernia forum:

– Encourage the sharing of more patient testimonials and experiences, for the discovery/diagnosis, pre-op and post-op stages of care. Those type of reports can be very helpful to other patients.

– Perhaps there could be an expert hernia surgeon list for city/state/country added to the site? I know that American Hernia Society and European Hernia Society can be good resources to locate surgeons, but a separate patient centric list would certainly be valuable. Many patients are seeking experts in specific types of procedures; open, tissue, laparoscopic, perhaps such a list could improve the connection between experienced doctors and patients.

Anyway, this forum is a great resource for patients, thanks for providing the service.

[Chaunce123]

Inguinal Hernia Surgey Complication In Progress?

Hines, Do you mind sharing which doctor and location you had to perform a traditional non-mesh hernia repair? Those who are knowledgable in non-mesh procedures are getting difficult to find and it could be helpful to future patients who read these forums. Thanks.

[Chaunce123]

4 Days Post-Op (Laparoscopic Hernia Repair)

rosesnrubies, Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress, it’s always good to hear these reports.

How are you feeling now? Have you noticed a change in symptoms? Please continue to keep everyone updated.

[Chaunce123]

surgeons with <1% recurrence & chronic pain rate?

Your best bet is to ask the surgeons what their experience and rates are.

As a fellow patient, if I was in Europe and I was going to travel I would either go see Dr Muschaweck in Germany / London, or perhaps the Gilmore Groin Hernia Clinic in London. They focus on a lot of professional athletes and have vast amounts of experience with hernias and related groin conditions.

http://www.leistenbruch.de/english/index.html

http://www.thegilmoregroinandherniaclinic.co.uk/surgery.php

I don’t know of any surgeons using absorbable mesh for inguinal hernias for anything outside of clinical trials, but it’s possible you may find otherwise.

Keep us updated on your decisions and progress, good luck.

[Chaunce123]

Femoral or Inguinial Hernia under Lymph Node

TGR4Y8, fellow patient here and I’m not a doctor…

Does your hernia hurt you or cause you difficulties? If it’s not troublesome, maybe you won’t need need an urgent repair, particularly if you are nursing a child? Just a thought, and perhaps “watchful waiting” is something to discuss with your surgeon.

Also, you could always get a second opinion about the surgical procedure. You can find doctors with an interest in hernias on the American Hernia Society website, and if you want to share your location you can also get recommendations from the doctors and patients on this forum.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress and decisions.

[Chaunce123]

3 weeks post op

Is your primary hernia pain gone?

Remember that it takes a while to heal, and everyone heals at different rates. Eat as healthy as you can with mostly vegetables and lean proteins and and try to walk as much as you can tolerate, both should help.

Thanks for continuing to update on your progress and story, it can be helpful information for other patients.

[Chaunce123]

Re: mesh or no mesh surgery

seeker, just to offer a few words of encouragement here: surgery is tough on the body and it can take a while to recover from regardless of the type. Give your body time to heal and to feel better, keeping in mind that everyone recovers at a different rate.

Do your best to eat as healthy as possible, lots of vegetables and lean proteins, and move and walk as much as you can tolerate.

Out of curiosity, is the primary hernia pain you had relieved now?

Thanks for continuing to update on your story and your progress, please continue to do so, it can be valuable information for other patients.

[Chaunce123]

Undetermined Lower Pelvic

idoncov, thanks for updating on your case and your progress. Please continue to update on these forums as you recover.

Do you mind sharing what type of surgery you had, where, and with what doctor? It could be helpful information to other patients.

Re bicycles: I know a few men who have groin and pelvic pain difficulties with riding bikes, and I know many men who have no issues with riding a bike, it may be an anatomical variance thing, and sometimes it comes down to the bike seat too.

[Chaunce123]

Mesh-Free Tissue Tissue Repair Techniques

dropbear, this is from a fellow patient and I am not a doctor: Shouldice in Toronto is a good option if you can travel to Canada and afford the associated out of pocket costs. They have fairly strict requirements, do require a multiple-day hospital stay, encourage patients to immediately move around, and don’t generally do full anesthesia, all of that is part of their routine protocol. Cost estimates from I have heard without insurance are around $7000 USD total. Some things to keep in mind about Shouldice and a Shouldice repair: you must not be overweight, and you must have a reasonably obvious palpable hernia. If you are overweight they will prescribe weight loss and will not do surgery until you meet a normal BMI requirement, and if your hernia is not found on exam they will not do surgery.

A Shouldice option in the USA is Dr David Johnson in Palm Springs CA, he worked at Shouldice for several years and still performs the same Shouldice repair by request, as well as the other standard mesh repairs. Dr Towfigh also performs a Shouldice repair as mentioned here. I believe Dr Yunis in Sarasota Florida also performs a Shouldice repair too, surely there are others out there as well but it’s generally harder to find in the USA.

I believe Dr Petersen uses a modified Bassini or McVay repair, but that is based upon web research and not a direct conversation.

A non-mesh option in the bay area is Dr William Brown, he focuses on sports hernias but also will do a regular inguinal hernia as well. Dr Gutman in Los Gatos is highly experienced but I believe is primarily Laparoscopic, I’m not sure if non mesh is an option there.

Your best bet is to inquire directly with the surgeons or surgery centers you are interested in and ask questions. Good luck and keep us posted on your decisions and progress.

[Chaunce123]

Femoral hernia

mela, glad to hear your surgery went well so far. Please continue to keep us all updated on your progress!

[Chaunce123]

Occult hernia in males

eagleeye, is your new pain the same as it was before? To me that would be the biggest indicator that the same problem is back, and thus addressing the same problem would be effective.

Did you originally have a hernia or was the pelvic floor repair for athletic pubalgia or a fascial tear? I think ultimately the repair is similar with Dr Meyers but I wonder if the original problem could impact a diagnosis for recurrence due to the difficult nature of determining a sports hernia. Just thinking out loud as a fellow patient here.

You might want to try requesting an ultrasound with valsava as well, particularly if you didn’t know to strain/bear down during the initial MRI test. I have read repeatedly that hernias are frequently overlooked on imaging tests so it would not surprise me if it was missed. An ultrasound is also fairly cheap from a cost perspective.

I wouldn’t worry too much about sharing a general location on the forum, a city or state is usually sufficient to find a nearby doctor or a few possibilities in the general region. If you’re looking for doctors specifically with knowledge and experience with sports hernias, the following lists may be helpful to you:

– Dr Meyers at Vincera in Philadelphia

– Dr Boyarsky in New Jersey

– Dr William Brown in Fremont California

– Dr Ulrike Muschaweck in Munich, Germany and London UK

– Gilmore Groin clinic in London UK

And some other well known hernia doctors spread around the country, which may be helpful for investigating a sports hernia or an occult hernia:

– Dr Towfigh in Los Angeles California

– Dr Chen at UCLA in Los Angeles California

– Dr Bruce Ramshaw in Knoxville TN

– Dr Yunis in Sarasota Florida

– Dr Grischkan in Ohio

Anyway, just throwing some names and locations out there, perhaps one is near you. Otherwise you can check the American Hernia Society website for surgeons interested in the broad topic, perhaps calling their offices can reveal more information https://americanherniasociety.org/

Good luck and keep us updated on your diagnosis and decisions.

[Chaunce123]

top hwrnia in wisvonsin

Gardner, Sorry that you’re going through this.

If you are thinking about re-do surgery I think it’d be prudent to get a few opinions from a few different experts, preferably each with a good amount of re-do and experience with possible mesh removal if that is deemed necessary.

There are a lot of names mentioned on this forum with experience, many on the west coast like Dr Towfigh and Dr Chen in LA. Surely there are others on the east coast and midwest as well.

If you are going to Germany or London you might want to see Dr Ulrike Muschaweck who gets a lot of traffic from global sports stars for groin pain and hernias. She does re-do surgery and mesh removal in some cases as well.

Keep us updated on your progress and decision making.

[Chaunce123]

Surgeon challenging Radiologist’s CT scan

jzinckgra, indeed I am only a patient as well, but to me your CT report seems very detailed and specific. I personally have never had a report even close to that detailed but it probably depends on the radiologist and how much they feel like investigating and reporting.

With that said I do know it is a very common belief of many doctors and clinics to think that if you do not have the big bulge than you do not have a hernia. On the other hand there is a lot of evidence on this forum and elsewhere to suggest that is not always the case.

[Chaunce123]

Robotic Inguinal Hernia Surgery FANTASTIC Post-op

dand, this is a great story and I’m really glad to hear you have had such a positive surgical experience. This will be undoubtedly helpful to other patients who are looking for a good hernia surgeon in the New Jersey area.

Best of luck moving forward and if you feel like checking in once in a while perhaps keep us updated on your continued progress.

[Chaunce123]

No mesh Hernia surgeons in Portland Oregon?

mamadunlop, it’s always good to hear these positive stories. Thank you for sharing your experience and best of luck with your future surgery. Keep us updated on your progress.

[Chaunce123]

Surgeon challenging Radiologist’s CT scan

jzinckgra, I don’t think it is uncommon to have interpretive disagreements between radiology and doctors, I have personally encountered this as well and as a patient it can be very frustrating to be on the receiving end.

You might want to consider getting a second look at the images, and also find out if the surgeon themselves looks at the images. Many doctors go based on the written report alone which is fine in many cases but with some of the more obscure situations it may not be as helpful, particularly if you do not have the traditional palpable hernia bulge. Find a hernia expert if possible, or at least a doctor with a lot of experience with hernias.

I think Dr Towfigh of these forums used to offer an online consultation service where she would personally review images, perhaps that could offer some insight as well.

[Chaunce123]

No mesh hernia surgeons in Ontario Canada

Darby, if you can make it to Toronto Canada then Shouldice clinic is able to perform a no mesh hernia surgery in most cases. Just an idea.

[Chaunce123]

Have had pain for about 3 months

jantuna2, it’s great to hear these success stories and I’m glad you’re healing well.

Do you mind sharing the surgeon and location of clinic you saw who was able to work out your case and successfully perform your surgery? Many patients could find this information useful. Thanks.

[Chaunce123]

Inguinal hernia mesh removal

Was the pain you had before surgery similar to the pain you have now? How was the hernia diagnosed initially? Has someone done an ultrasound with valsava to check for a new hernia or a missed hernia?

I’m not sure if you have yet but you might want to try something like an extended NSAID and anti-inflammatory protocol (30 days higher dose continuous if allowed by doc), maybe nerve block injections, etc, before considering surgery, some people have a lot of success with those approaches to calm down the nerves and then don’t need a re-do surgery.

I would seek out someone with experience in managing post-op pain and re-do or removal surgery.

In southern California is Dr Towfigh and Dr Chen at UCLA, they are both well known for taking on complex cases and doing removal surgeries. There are certainly others throughout the country too, perhaps Dr Towfigh on these forums can chime in with some recommendations depending on your location.