Good intentions

What I think nobody knows is what the reaction of the mesh might be after few/many years, based on age/life style, activity level (also including athletes here): can one assume that very rarely problems will arise after few years from the mesh surgery with no pain? or are we looking at a potential time bomb?

The ultimate mesh if it will ever exist will be the one that minimises scar tissue growth in my opinion; this is a major downside of the implants….I am wondering what kind of PT athletes do after the surgery to minimise the formation/impact of the scar tissue, although the process I guess cannot be stopped?

I find it really outrageous that many…[Read more]

You mean at the Shouldice clinic they told you that the hernia was too small, and that they did not feel it was bad enough to treat it surgically? Sorry if I misunderstood…

Thanks for the info!
I can add that I know for a fact that a professional football player for the AC Lazio squad (in Italy) was operated with a mesh for an inguinal hernia some years ago; I can’t recall how long he was sidelined but I have a feeling that given the particular strain footballers sustain in the inguinal area (they are subject a lot…[Read more]

Thanks for the link!
I am wondering on how long it will take for this to be “common practice”….is it something that will become mainstream in the years to come, together with the Robotic approach?

I would think if they decided to go for a CT scan (like they did with me), they will most certainly look at the whole area. When considering surgery I was told by a hospital that they would first do a full checkup to avoid “bad surprises” during the surgery e.g. cancer or other unexpected situations…on the other hand hernia specialists have told…[Read more]

I find it interesting and worrying that there is still a discussion on whether mesh or non mesh repairs are more at risk of chronic pain….I am sorry to say this but I am starting thinking that an awful lot of scientific papers in the medical science field are garbage. Personally I think that there are some situations where mesh is the best…[Read more]

Thanks a lot for your answer! May I also ask what you thoughts are on the Ovitex absorbable meshes? I know you mentioned in the past that these meshes end up causing recurrences…

Thanks a lot again!

Oh and also if there is an hernia size limit for the Ovitex meshes, and if they can be used on a bilateral laparoscopic too…

I would like to ask if there are also Ovitex meshes that dissolve over time (are absorbed by the body?), and if these meshes are used the same way (for the same hernia types) as the ones which are instead permanent. I seemed to have read something about this but I am not 100% sure what is meant really…

Is the mesh close to the nerves also when placed laparoscopically?

Thanks a lot Dr. Szotek!

Do you think you could send me their e-mail addresses (also via private message in case this is more appropriate), so I can ask them some questions (mostly logistic/cost/insurances etc)?

Thanks again!

Thanks a lot for your answer!

It was indeed a nice discussion!

Did I understand right that while allergies to the meshes are very rare, reactions are more common?
Also, did I understand right that the risk of these body reactions is lower with bio (organic) meshes?

As I have urticaria would this warrant the use of such bio meshes rather than the synthetic ones then? As the…[Read more]

Thanks Dr. SzoteK,

I am currently based in Switzerland, I would be thankful if you could let me know of any surgeons here or in the neighboring countries that use these particular meshes. I am still considering options so this at the moment would be just for information purposes should I decide to go forward with surgery…hope it makes sense…

OH btw less inflammation also means less likelihood for urticaria attacks probably I guess🤔