Casimir
Forum Replies Created
-
@ddot14
About your comment about follow up, I only speak from my experience, but Dr Grischkan has been very diligent regarding followup. The exact opposite of what the experience was with Dr Tomas and that entire organization.In fact, I recently emailed Dr Grischkan on a Saturday night. I didn’t expect a response for a couple of days, at least. But I got a call a little later that Saturday night. I missed the call but got the voicemail, and I thought wow that is great, and thought that would be that. Then the next day, Sunday between flights, he called again to make sure I received the voicemail. This time we spoke about the subject, and he went into greater detail. That was pretty great, and I really appreciated it.
-
I feel I need to add to this.
Dr Grischkan is not impressed with the Desarda, I gathered from my interaction with him. Something about it can easily be done too tightly at the ring, as I recall, and that it is perhaps more prone to failure, and does a lot of moving of things around. He’s had to “fix” a share of them is my understanding.
As I had both the Desarda (for an indirect, and a small, hernia which was a mistake right there as I understand it, and that I am going to flatly say I feel a doctor of let’s just call it a different mindset would not want to allow happen, and a tailored approach would preclude) and Dr Grischkan fixed it after it failed and then some. My post on it is elsewhere.
To be clear, in my view seems obvious failure itself is not something that can be or should ever be expected guaranteed to not happen. Would never expect anyone to offer a guarantee. Maybe some are more prone. Seems like any can fail. Seems like it’s just one of those things. But you need to accept it can happen at least. Surely all doctors accept it can happen…
…which is why I am more than a little upset that Dr. Tomas literally used the word, and guaranteed me, that mine had not failed in a phone call, and this is after I got their attention with issues I was having. Without seeing me. In the couple weeks or so time after that call as I was getting things wrapped up to go down, I got in such bad shape it wasn’t possible for me to go there anymore.
So, that happened. Fun times.
Tailored approach makes so much sense even to a layman like me, seems to be critical. I’d add, from my personal experience, it seems the surgeon and way a practice operates is often as important as the approach chosen. Just my 2¢.
-
@colt Sent…
-
Edit / add — having a lot of reviews, no matter if they are sort of meaningless as to representing ultimate outcome because people don’t really consider that aspect, they see stars, is also critical when running Adwords.
-
@colt I sort of assumed they all do, but just wanted to check. Any of the doctors can confirm maybe?
Not to digress, but well actually, it’s actually pretty related to what you said so…
The only Dr. that I know of that did not use a tailored approach, and does full tissue repair, and I earned the right to say it because I was a direct recipient of the method, is the one that does Desarda, in FL.
And it’s an interesting example of that for a couple of reasons in my view.
Based on my experience, you might be lucky if you get diagnosed correctly, via a physical exam, ie, palpated at all. Again I can say that because my experience was eyeballed, thus incorrectly noted as reducible, which would generally indicate direct. Then I was told it was actually a small indirect one, at the 3 or 4 day post op meeting. Wish he would have stopped, sewn me up, and said I’m not going to do all this to you my friend, for that. But there may be a reason for that…
As the meeting ended, I received a plea to leave a review. Before there was any way to know what the surgery outcome ultimately would be? I thought that’s just odd..so I didn’t do it. But there may be a reason for that…
Search “hernia” in Google, and you’ll see a clinic runs a ton Adwords Google Ads that pop up at the top the page, on that technique.
They are expensive ads. We deal with these for a living. A Google Adwords based customer acquisition model, even a partial one, requires maximizing your Return on Investment to Ad Spend. Which means you focus on maximizing your “leads-to-sales”. So you might have staff that follows up to try to get people to commit to buy, like a car dealership does… just in this case it’s a hernia surgery. And, they did call in this manner to try to book me in.
As Adwords and Google Product Listing Ads experts, also known as PLA ads — we have been doing it and dealing directly with Google for 15+ years. This is an expensive business model dependent on high enough ROI to advertising costs (lead to sale) and moving a lot of those through your sales channel, quickly. It works great for some industries where that’s ok. The irony is this didn’t occur to consider, perhaps being too close to it, it felt normal, and treating our customers with a very high level of respect affected our thinking.
That system is different from putting the care of the individual first, gaining word of mouth referrals, taking time as needed, plus using other more traditional channels that don’t impact a health-first approach.
About them being more delicate, I’ve seen it noted here. I can say the pure tissue repair I had needed longer than it was, I feel, implied to heal. For whatever reason, they said go ahead and jog in two weeks. And really oddly, specifically not to call them if there is more pain in 4 or so weeks. There was.
I walked a few miles a day on flat terrain (trade show etc) for 10 days, a full 12 weeks post op, figured should be OK since hey they said I could jog in 2 weeks… and it seemed to rapidly go downhill in the last couple days. Then more things happened after that when I got back.
All in all, what I have read since says, to my thinking, that a tailored approach is critical, and just as much is the surgeon! And mesh is not bad in and of itself. And tissue repair is not good in and of itself.
-
@drtowfigh Perusing various posts and saw this one and wanted to share that unless I am totally mistaken, Dr Grischkan primarily does a modified Shouldice repair when tissue allows, and is in the midwest (Cleveland OH area), and has done around 20K of them.
-
@good-intentions Ha — yes!! That wayback machine is great. Fun to also look at the old amazon and apple sites, etc. Technical archeology.
Too bad about the images here… maybe there’s a setting in the backend that needs to be turned on…
-
Can we upload images?…
-
@good-intentions Please no worries 🙂 All good!
-
@alephy Thank you. I take fish oil perhaps that helps. And LOVE salmon 🙂 I ordered a castor oil pack kit on referral from a therapist, I am not sure what to expect as I don’t see much clinical backup on it but will be happy to report what I experience.
-
…or if mesh is involved, does that make a difference?
-
@alephy Agree. An accessible, digestible, general informational set, of which this is just a part, has hope to help some potentially avert situations you and others like me can personally describe…available where many people also are looking, possibly saving some from unneeded suffering — one of many seeds found that might open up an important dialog down the road. Positive things.
The tailored approach is a topic I plan to cover, and even thought that could make a great podcast topic, or article-format interview, with a surgeon. 🙂
-
@good-intentions I would respectfully counter that academic argument can go on forever, without consensus. For the practical purposes of providing laypeople who are looking at surgery with points that they can potentially bring up with their doctor, and open up these valuable discussions in greater detail, and become their own advocate, this can be the roadmap of points to consider or ask about that otherwise may never have entered into a conversation — which can only be an asset. As in my case, I had almost none of these point top of mind — or even in mind. That lead to a lack of dialogue I could initiate. Which largely led to my situation now. In practical terms, this list would have benefited me immeasurably and that’s said as an understatement. And I again thank @drtowfigh for taking the time to assemble her thoughts and provide her take on the question.
-
@drtowfigh Can I ask for permission please to make an infographic based around this, or otherwise note it on my FB page? As either anonymous data, or credited, if you would have a preference? Wonderfully concise information. Thanks again.
-
@drtowfigh So appreciate your response. Thank you so much.
-
@jnomesh Thanks for the feedback and info 🙂
-
@drbrown Thank you.
And @drtowfigh.I am working on making a private group FB page for people searching for consolidated information, not so much a discussion group (as consolidated information does not exist as far as I can tell in an effective manner) as they start on the healing path from a hernia. This is due to my own experience which was seriously misguided and flawed at large financial and emotional cost, even as I tried to do what I thought was best, where something like this would have made a big difference in my life, and now to help others that are in the same situation that can be helped — and there are so many — scared and feeling helpless.
The group is here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/643409982866461/I have these topics so far:
Inguinal – Checklist
Inguinal – Open Pros / Cons
Inguinal – Lapro Pros / Cons
Inguinal – Mesh Procedured
Inguinal – Non Mesh Procedues
Non Mesh Doctors
Revision Resources (drs who specialize in post 1st surgery issues)
InfographicsI’m missing the other hernia types. But I’ll get to them.
I think this would really without exaggeration have the potential to save many many peoples quality of life by helping them make better, more informed decisions and to find corresponding help.
If any doctors would be interested in helping with this, or being listed in the doctors section just let me know.
I think interviews with doctors would be good to have as well. I think there is a really large and important opportunity to help, and address a real void.
-
@good-intentions Thanks. I’ll check out that video.
I saw where @drtowfigh mentioned there are benefits and risks more inherent to each without going into them. I was hoping for an unbiased condensed response. I hear from some no-mesh Drs that say you can get up and back in action in a matter of a week or two. And I hear where some people with mesh have pain for up to a year.
I guess I was thinking more like “open can cut nerves more readily, but gives a clearer view of the anatomy”… and “lapro doesn’t risk particular nerve damage as much, but”… a general list like that.
I don’t know what the risks are there, maybe it’s harder to navigate the anatomy and there is more risk to a particular part of the anatomy via lapro, and you need general anesthesia.
I am trying to put together a resource on FB where answers to common questions can be easily found, the questions that keep getting asked over, and over, and over… there are support groups, but a lot is the (suffering) blind leading the (suffering) blind.
Along with a list of Drs that do particular techniques, and in what part of the US they are in.
There are the questions I see being asked over and over and over on forums. For instance I myself didn’t know there were so many great non-mesh docs around. BUT MY GOD IN HEAVED — I WISH I DID! Whey is it so hard to learn this? And I am an internet marketer. And I looked. Something is wrong.
I didn’t know what the differences were or advantages of the different techniques — most of what you find is very clinically spoken and written for academia, draws unclear conclusions unto the technique itself, not in a comparison manner, and not allowing a prospective patient to have any influence in their path forward based on being informed with the big picture.
I feel very strongly that there is a need for that, that an opportunity exists for a solid resource, from 1) what to find out and ask about regarding YOUR hernia, to 2) what generally are options for various situations so someone can understand options in general and 3) a list of drs if they want to be listed with what they specialize in, so the path form start to finish could be assisted if surgery is desired.
I’d like to have interviews with doctors posted. Basically, a resource for this ailment which is so mysterious and can cause so much despair, and where so many feel so lost.
I’m trying to do make positive from my own terrible experience that might help others avoid it happening to them, basically.
-
@colt I had a desarda. It was open. As it’s been explained to me, that process involves cutting areas that are prone, or can, then become incisional hernias.
-
@ajm222 “Poor people suffering and they don’t know a fraction of the stuff we discuss here and they seem helpless and scared, and many of their queries have very simple and straightforward answers. And it’s sad to see so many considering radical surgeries with some doctors who appear to be out just to make money off of them while leaving them disabled, and no one is warning them to do a little more research. and then there’s the usual slew of ‘all mesh is poison and will ruin your life’ posts that are completely out of context”
Spot on.
A suggestion I would add would be to, if not already done, check all the page titles and headers on this site and optimize them for searches so it appears as high as possible in organic Google searches. I checked the link profile and it has a lot of strong sites linking to it, and that is hard to do, and great, and a big part done. I imagine this site might be a good way for new patients to connect to the contributing doctors, so there might be mutual interest and benefit. This site is head and shoulders above anything else I’ve seen on this topic.