[Chaunce1234]

quote G-K:

Since this was a redo surgery Dr Brown tailored his repair blending two surgical techniques to deal with the specific anatomy of my hernia. He used the Bassini technique to repair the inguinal floor and then used a version of the Desarda technique bringing the external oblique over it to further reinforce it. It was done with local anesthesia and IV sedation and I went home the same day riding three hours in a car with minimal discomfort.

At eight months now the repair feels great. Which is especially amazing considering this was a redo surgery.

However, people should to be aware that the recovery for a surgery of this type can take longer which I think is due to the amount of suturing that needs to be done to the muscles in order to close the hernia without mesh. So it was about 4 weeks before I felt healed enough to comfortably drive a car. But that’s a small price to pay for not having to worry about chronic pain or other complications from mesh.

[USER=”2781″]G-K[/USER] Thanks for your sharing your experience. Was your hernia a direct or indirect or femoral? Was the hernia painful before the surgery? Were you able to work and function during your 4 week recovery? Do you have any pain or nerve issues now?

[Chaunce1234]

Why is it not possible to simply mail patients a survey at 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, etc for follow up? The surveys could be anonymized if there is some privacy concern about patient data.

Personally I’m still surprised that a US Senator with access to the best health care available in the USA is going out of there way to avoid the ‘gold standard’ mesh repairs offered in the USA to seek out a Shouldice repair in Canada. That’s a very specific decision to make. What’s he worried about?

[Chaunce1234]

Best of luck with your surgery with Dr Burns, please update us on your progress and how the whole experience goes for you.

General tips for recovering from surgery:

– get your house/bed/bathroom setup ahead of time for maximum comfort and recovery, go grocery shopping, do laundry, etc before your surgery

– try and have someone capable spend the first day or two with you, it will make it easier

– listen to your surgeons recommendations

– listen to your body

– walk as often as you can tolerate (check with your surgeon first), even if it’s initially shuffling around the house or to the mailbox etc

– don’t needlessly suffer, use pain relief if needed. But the sooner you can stop taking prescription pain relievers the better, you want to avoid constipation

– take a stool softener (check with your surgeon first) for a few days after surgery

– if you are prone to nausea, request something to combat nausea

– stay hydrated, drink a lot of water

– eat healthy, lots of vegetables

– consume more protein than usual, consider a protein shake supplement (check with your surgeon first)

– pick out a few good books, magazines, TV shows, movies, etc that you’re interested in, it’ll help pass the initial recovery time

[Chaunce1234]

This is a fair idea, but it still requires that a pure tissue hernia repair is mastered to a degree that inspires confidence of both the patient and the performing surgeon, since the absorbable mesh will vanish in time.

I think the problem is that pure tissue repairs are not commonly taught anymore in US med schools nowadays as I understand it, which is part of why they have largely vanished in the USA. So how does an interested surgeon learn the non-mesh hernia repair skill, let alone master it? Maybe on cadavers in their spare time? I genuinely do not know the answer to that.

[Chaunce1234]

When someone with access to the best of the best healthcare in the USA decides to go to Shouldice for non-mesh hernia surgery, what does that say?

Interesting to note that Senator Rand Paul is also a medical doctor, why doesn’t he want the “gold standard” mesh US approach?

The hernia-specific comments on the various articles about this around the web are also interesting, there are a lot of anecdotes about hernia repairs (Shouldice, mesh, etc).

[Chaunce1234]

quote Good intentions:

He seemed to be thinking right in 2007, see the image and the first link below. I have not seen a single post from him on this site though. There are posts where people respond to Chaunce1234 (I did once before Chaunce1234 corrected me) as if he is Dr. Earle, but no confirmed Dr. Earle posts.

No idea what his thinking is today. He consults for Bard though, apparently (see the springer.com link below), so might have some internal conflicts, not so free to act on his opinion. Might be a problem.

Good luck to your Dad. Is his problem centered around the hernia repair site or is it a general overall physical problem? I know of at least one person who had a “full body” reaction to his second mesh implant.

https://search.proquest.com/openview…&cbl=48921

https://link.springer.com/article/10…464-016-5072-x

Just want to reiterate that I am not Dr Earle (nor any other doctor), just a fellow patient. I’m not sure why a few posts of Dr Earles were assigned to me, I assume during the changes to HerniaTalk forum some time last year some of the forum posts got mismatched. Anyway I don’t want to hijack this topic.

If possible try to provide specifics about where exactly the pain is, what type of pain (stabbing, burning, dull, throbbing, tingling, etc), what makes it better/worse, etc. Did the problems start after the initial surgery in 2001? Or are they new? Has he been checked for recurrence?

Best of luck, keep us updated on your progress.

[Chaunce1234]

Have you had an ultrasound or any imaging done in the inguinal/femoral area to aid or confirm the diagnosis?

Here are some hernia surgeons in the LA area that have been referenced and discussed on these boards, with significant experience in hernia repair. Obviously there will be others too, so other recommendations are welcome to be shared.

– Dr Shirin Towfigh in Los Angeles, California (non-mesh and mesh), who you already saw

– Dr David Chen in Los Angeles, California (uncertain on repair methods, primarily laparoscopic maybe?)

– Dr Edward Phillips in Los Angeles, California (non-mesh and mesh)

– Dr Robert Burns in Newport Beach, California (non-mesh and mesh)

Another recent forum poster had a successful hernia surgery experience with Dr Todd Harris in Newport Beach, he appears to be high volume and very well rated online but only does mesh repairs.

As for the endless hassle that is insurance, you might be able to get a lower rate by not using insurance at all. For example a quick check on Dr Harris website shows he offers no-insurance rates that are arguably lower than what many deductibles and co-insurances are.

It would be interesting to know if other common autoimmune issues like general allergies, eczema, psoriasis, etc have any relationship to mesh problems, but as far as I know there have not been any studies on that. Perhaps [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER] has some clinical experience with this?

Anyway, best of luck and keep us updated on your case and decision making.

[Chaunce1234]

Thanks for that information [USER=”2608″]dog[/USER] though it sounds like a somewhat generic email response, as it is glossing over information that is potentially relevant to both surgeons and patients (ie; number of inguinal hernia surgeries performed, methods of repair, outcomes, etc).

Perhaps someone will be able to speak directly with Dr Repta to get information specifically about his hernia approach and experiences with inguinal hernia repairs.

[Chaunce1234]

Is this before or after surgery? What type of surgery if after? What type of hernia and where is the bulge located? Does the pain come randomly or is it constant? Does an activity cause the pain, or relieve the pain?

If it’s an inguinal hernia, perhaps you’re feeling pain at the site of the internal ring? Or maybe it could be because the three major groin nerves extend from the spinal cord, and wrap around to the front of the body and down the inguinal region to the testicle, thigh, pubic area, etc? Some people report pain elsewhere as well, it seems to vary depending on the individual and perhaps their anatomy.

Nerves are strange in that pain can travel up and down their pathway causing referred pain to elsewhere. There are many comments on these forums (and elsewhere) of referred pain from hernias and after hernia surgeries, maybe because the groin region is highly innervated.

[Chaunce1234]

[USER=”2775″]linzee.1018[/USER] thanks for adding your experience with a non-mesh hernia repair procedure from Dr Kang, this is undoubtedly helpful information to other patients.

[Chaunce1234]

Thanks for adding the information regarding Dr Repta in Arizona, it’s increasingly rare in the USA to find surgeons who are able and willing to perform non-mesh hernia repair. Being a plastic surgeon it looks like he primarily focuses on umbilical hernia repairs, but he has a few inguinal repair videos and mesh removals on YouTube as well.

Has anyone spoken with Dr Repta to know what type of non-mesh hernia repairs he performs? Or any additional information on his experience with the non-mesh hernia repair procedures?

[Chaunce1234]

quote Jeremy B:

Hello all, below is my progress ~1 month post-surgery:
The swelling has decreased to about half.
There is still a very hard lump around the incision site, deeper than skin level.
Numbness still remains from the Incision to the base of my package.
Walking and general movement has become less painful, I even went snowboarding with no issues.
I hope the healing continues and can get to a point where I’m glad to have had it done.

I’m glad to hear you’re able to return to activities like snowboarding. Thanks for the continued updates on your progress.

[Chaunce1234]

Happy New Year to all!

This forum is serving a valuable purpose and is undoubtedly helping patients become more knowledgable and find answers to tough questions.

Let’s keep the discussions going.

[Chaunce1234]

This seems to happen with certain words, and with many links. I think it is automated spam filtering.

[Chaunce1234]

Interesting question, I wonder if you could go to an allergist and have them test your exposure to the various plastics and materials?

I think [USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER] has discussed allergies to mesh before, can you provide any info Dr Towfigh? Thanks in advance.

[Chaunce1234]

quote Chaunce1234:

Trying to find a bright spot somewhere in this mess…. for private practice surgeons it could be a business opportunity, if they put together reasonably priced packages for various surgical options when paid directly without insurance.

I should add that some clinics already do this. Shouldice in Canada is one, with an all-inclusive price for the entire 4 day stay, and Dr Thomas offers a single quote for a Desarda repair as well. There are probably others.

[Chaunce1234]

Unfortunately yes, very limited insurance options for the next year. Everything available is in-network only with a strict EPO or HMO network, with nothing out-of-network covered at all.

Of course this comes with higher premiums, higher deductibles, higher coinsurance, higher out-of-pocket maximum (and that only applies in-network, it’s apparently billed unlimited out of network), etc. Higher costs and more bureaucracy to no patient benefit. I imagine the same bureaucrats will harass the doctors and demand more paperwork and hoops to jump through for them too, just so everyone is equally miserable with the system.

quote :

People might have to choose their jobs and the place they live based on their healthcare needs. Find a surgeon, then move to their network so that they can fix you.

That is a disturbing thought, but it’s a distinct possibility.

Trying to find a bright spot somewhere in this mess…. for private practice surgeons it could be a business opportunity, if they put together reasonably priced packages for various surgical options when paid directly without insurance.

[Chaunce1234]

You might try reaching out to:

– Dr. John Etlinger in San Antonio Texas, he has been reported to perform non-mesh repairs on select patients.

It’s also possible that he knows colleagues who are able to perform the same procedures.

Finding a non-mesh hernia repair specialist is becoming increasingly difficult and often requires travel or even going out of state, so if you find another surgeon please do share the details.

Good luck and keep us updated on your case and progress.

[Chaunce1234]

Sorry to hear the swelling is still prominent. How are you feeling otherwise? I imagine it’s frustrating to wait for a seroma to slowly go away, are you able to massage it as Dr Towfigh suggested?

[Chaunce1234]

quote VegasHernia:

Yesterday marked five weeks since surgery.

At this point I have no pain at the incision site and the swelling has gone down considerably. Still have some numbness, but it’s getting better as time passes. The only naggle is my surgical side testicle is still a bit tender. Wouldn’t call it pain necessarily, just a bit of occasional “hey I’m here” discomfort where (what I assume) the cord connects up to it.

Had an “Oh @%#” moment last week when the left side started hurting. If the other side has a recurrence, I’ll start playing the lottery cause I assumingely hit some crazy odds. Here’s to hoping there isn’t a “second recurrence” thread down the road 😮 (pain stopped a couple days later).

My surgeon was Dr.Todd Harris in Newport Beach.

Thanks for the report of surgical experience and the name of your surgeon, it sounds like the recovery is going very well.

Take care, and keep us updated on your progress.