[Good intentions]

Your diagnosis is for a herniated disc, in your backbone, not the type of hernia this site is focused on. This site’s focus is about abdominal and inguinal hernias.

You might try one of the bodybuilding sites, they have a lot of heavy lifters, with assorted problems. Good luck.

Still, somebody might have a suggestion so check back occasionally.

[Good intentions]

Dr. Towfigh’s practice page has some comments about biologic meshes. Click on “Biologic Mesh” if it doesn’t show up.

http://www.beverlyhillsherniacenter.com/hernia-surgery/hernia-mesh/#1472502219863-73f0cc8a-cd8e

[Good intentions]

quote Wolfshole:

After having a laparoscopic surgery with a mesh two weeks ago on the left side, I experience scrotum pain. My left testicle is swollen, although it’s not blue anymore.

Does anyone have a similar experience? Does the pain subside?

Can you give more detail? There are many many different types of mesh, and procedures, and types of hernia. It is very common for the scrotum to be swollen and discolored after hernia repair.

[Good intentions]

When you talked to Shouldice did you get beyond the front desk or did you talk to a surgeon? Preferably the highly experienced one. At big institutions there is often a basic set of questions that are asked for screening purposes, by the support staff. You’d think the doctor with 20+ years would have offered more.

I’m not sure that Dr. Towfigh is very active on reading the daily posts. But I think that she does check her messages. You can click on her name in any of her posts and there will be an option to send a message. You can also contact her practice, via the link on the “Hernia Surgeons” page.

Good luck. Keep pressing forward.

[Good intentions]

I would find an “old head” hernia repair surgeon, a surgeon who has lots of experience with open mesh repairs and also removes mesh if it’s a problem. I think that there are essentially two classes of hernia repair surgeons – those who follow the guidelines and instructions and training to the letter but don’t know what to do when there are problems, and those who really understand how things work and what they’re doing with the mesh when they make the repair. It’s that way in many fields. Profession as opposed to expertise.

It might be that you had mesh shrinkage that is pulling on surrounding tissue. Can you give more detail on the material used? Heavy/light, plug, one of the odd unique designs? And type of hernia, direct or indirect. There might be a clue there. After seven weeks the healing should be pretty far along.

Don’t spend too much time trying to stay inside your insurance system either. Your choices will be limited. Post your general location and somebody might have a good surgeon in mind. Good luck.

[Good intentions]

“Sports hernia” is one of those misnomers, like “tennis elbow”. Even athletic pubalgia is misleading. Good luck. The info about the onset of the problem is probably a good clue for the right surgeon.

[Good intentions]

I think that you need to find a surgeon with expertise in infections and mesh removal. Dr. Towfigh is one, at the Beverly Hills Hernia Center. She is at the bottom of the page I linked below and is the administrator of the site. Many surgeons are stuck doing things exactly by their insurance programs’ protocols, even in Canada I imagine. They have to fight to get special cases like yours done properly.

There are other surgeons in the states. Can you travel?

https://www.herniatalk.com/surgeons

Click “Biologic Mesh” on this page – http://www.beverlyhillsherniacenter.com/hernia-surgery/hernia-mesh/#1472502219863-73f0cc8a-cd8e

[Good intentions]

Another person on the same forum had open repair with mesh 8 years ago and said he is also very happy with it. Said it was “perfect”. Another weight lifter.

[Good intentions]

Somebody on another forum just reported that they were happy with open repair using mesh, after 19 months. Body builder/weight lifter. They would choose the same path if they had to do it again.

[Good intentions]

I would ask the surgeon who is planning the exploration what they are looking for and what they will do if they find it. That’s not very clear. Will a second surgery be required or will they fix it right away. If you had laparoscopic implantation for the first repair and you have open surgery for exploration then you will have scarring from both sides. I think that some of the pain from open surgery is from the incisions themselves. You might end adding pain on top of pain. There are laparoscopic methods of exploration.

Also, I keep saying this, but it’s very important to keep track of the details, of your surgery and of what, exactly, causes the pain. If you just tell people that you had a hernia repaired and it hurts that could mean so many different things that nobody can give you good advice. Write all of the details down and keep them in a file. Copy and paste them in to your communications. If people can’t find your old posts then you’re starting from scratch on each new thread.

Good luck.

[Good intentions]

quote Orchard212:

At the end of March, I had robotic repair of bilateral inguinal hernias with mesh.

The surgery and recovery went fine. Nearly 8 weeks after surgery, while walking, I experienced the same pain that I had prior to surgery on my right side. Since then, the pain has been almost constant while walking and sometimes more pronounced than it was prior to surgery.

My questions are, is it too soon after surgery to consider that my right side hernia was not fixed or has reoccurred? If not, should I see the surgeon about the pain or the sports doctor who originally diagnosed me, or possibly a hernia specialist?

Can you give more detail on the type of mesh used for the repair. There are so many possibilities.

Are you saying that pain goes away when you’re inactive? It’s only there while walking?

You should certainly tell your original surgeon about the problem so that he/she knows, for future reference at least. It’s hard to give advice on which type of doctor you should see, since levels of expertise can vary even within a specialty. A hernia “specialist” could mean high volume or high quality.

[Good intentions]

Hello routern7. I just tried to post in your other thread but it came up as “Unapproved”. Hopefully Dr. Towfigh will fix it soon. Good luck. Keep track of what specifically causes your pain. It’s important.

[Good intentions]

You’re in a tough spot routern7. After one and a half years the mesh will have much tissue ingrowth and with your activity level will have shrunk to about 60-70% of its original size. It will be stiffer now and won’t conform to the shape of the body around it if it moves. Nothing at all like when it was implanted. So if you did pull some mesh free it will now be like a stiff piece of plastic free to poke and rub on the nerves and tissue around it.

The problem you might have with exploratory surgery is that it will look like healthy tissue, especially since you have reduced your activity level to compensate for the pain. The inflammation will heal up and by the eye it will look like “normal” mesh with healthy tissue surrounding it.

If you can feel the mesh poking you in certain areas as you move and you feel that it is what is causing the nerve irritation and pain, that can be used as a reason for having it removed. But you have to become an expert about your own body and be able to describe it well. If you had been in a car accident and a piece of stiff plastic had penetrated your abdomen it would be an easy decision for a doctor to remove the offending object. It’s just very hard for people to realize that the soft pliable material they implanted has morphed in to a stiff irritating foreign object.

Good luck. Keep track of what actions, specifically, cause the pain, and use very descriptive words for what the pain feels like. It can be difficult but it’s necessary for the doctors to make that decision with you to remove the material, if there is no other recourse. But, as I found, nobody can decide for you.

[Good intentions]

quote UhOh!:

Not to hijack this thread, but a related question: Is it true that ease of manual reducibility and tendency to spontaneous self-reduce upon lying supine can determine the type (between direct and indirect) and if so, how accurate are these indicators?

I know that my hernia had what seem to be the classic signs of a direct hernia – a peaked bump medial to the groin when standing, that disappears when lying down. I haven’t see a clear explanation of what, exactly, is stretching or tearing and/or why a bump forms there. I assume though that the “tear” extends across or in to the inguinal canal. The image of a round hole is probably incorrect, it’s probably a longitudinal or oblong defect. Some of the omentum and intestine is pressing directly outward, visibly, and some is pressing in to the canal, where the spermatic cord is. While I was trying to live with my hernia, at times my right testicle would get pretty screwed up as the spermatic cord got pinched.

[Good intentions]

quote Jeremy B:

Good Intentions, thank you for your response.

I am a 37yo male, 170lb thin, 6’2″ diagnosed with a right side inguinal hernia by two local surgeons (both hernia specialists);
Neither of them were able to determine subtype upon examination.

I see. You must be early in the hernia development process, with pain and/or pressure but no significant physical signs. There have been a few others on the forum with that problem.

I think that Dr. Kang has a mesh-free solution for direct and indirect hernias. I would imagine that Dr. Brown does also. I think that the open surgical method starts the same way for both so in the end the result might feel the same. I think that repairing a direct hernia soon, before the tissue gets stretched and/or torn, is important. I think that one of the reasons that mesh became popular was because it works well for large defects. If you wait too long on a direct hernia, you might just wait yourself in to mesh, or a high recurrence probability.

Good luck.

[Good intentions]

I’ve been under the impression that the physical exam will determine direct versus indirect. Can you give more detail on what your situation is? It’s a bit confusing. It’s sounding like you’ve been diagnosed with a hernia and mesh implantation was suggested as a repair method.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK423/

[Good intentions]

Three of the site surgeons are from your general area. VA, NY, and MA. I added the link below. Chaunce1234 often posts a list of surgeons that seem to be up to speed on current events. You might search for some of his posts. Good luck.

https://www.herniatalk.com/surgeons

[Good intentions]

Can you give more detail? “Large” can mean many things. Direct or indirect? What kinds of activities do you expect to do afterward? What did the surgeon that you saw recommend? Open, laparoscopic, mesh…?

These are interesting times to have a hernia repaired. So many possible repair methods, and materials, but so little confirmation of superiority of any of them.

[Good intentions]

I had a similar experience. The imaging didn’t show anything. Blood tests showed nothing. Urologist said he had never heard of mesh-related problems. Too much dependence on the bureaucracy and not enough plain-old being a doctor.

I know you’re in the wrong part of the country but if you can find somebody who has successfully solved a mesh problem you’ll be better off. It’s just not taught in medical school or residency. Most don’t know what to do about it.

In my case, the mesh inflammation caused several secondary problems. The body’s response to inflammation is more like a shot-gun than a rifle.

[Good intentions]

I just came across what looks like an excellent publication on pain management after hernia repair. It might help you with your decision-making. Good luck.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5896652/