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  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 30, 2018 at 9:16 pm in reply to: Successful, good "mesh" stories

    Thank you chaunce and jnomesh. I might start a thread soon myself. I haven’t really developed a consistent base of fitness that I can use as a reference point yet. I feel much better but I am still very far from where I was before the initial hernia. It’s easy to see how people with problems will just give up their old life and develop a new and weaker life. It happens almost without realizing it, if you don’t keep track of what you’re capable of, and compare it to memories of your old self.

    I think that that is one reason there aren’t many stories, good or bad, about how people are doing with their hernia repairs. Only the doctors can generate that information, via surveying their past patients. I wouldn’t be surprised if their are surgeons who have done those surveys but are not sharing the results. The surgeon who did my repair said that he was going to survey his patients after he got to 500. That would be a year or two ago, easily. I’m considering contacting him to see what he found.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 30, 2018 at 9:06 pm in reply to: Terrible pain. Pelvic mesh or possible hernia?

    Can you be more specific? Have you already had a mesh repair? For a hernia? what type of hernia? Where in the pelvis is the pain? Pelvis covers a lot of area.

    There was somebody recently who had a similar issue. Dr. Towfigh is an expert on sources of difficult-to-diagnose pain.

    Good luck. Add more details and somebody will have suggestions.

    @drtowfigh

    The @ function does not seem to be working today.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 30, 2018 at 2:45 am in reply to: New member with lots of questions

    Your repair was like mine, the “state” of the art for laparoscopic mesh repair. The odds say that you’ll be okay. It will still be worth your time to get your medical records. I’ve been trying to collect information about what works and what has problems, but the information is hard to find.

    Stay in touch and report your progress and you can get some advice on if what you’re experiencing is normal or not. Good luck.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 29, 2018 at 12:55 am in reply to: No hernia found after open surgery?

    The first thing you should do is to get a copy of your medical records, from the first doctor to the last. It sure does look like some corners were cut and assumptions were made. It might be even more clear when you see it in writing.

    You might not need to sue but once the people involved realize that the error is theirs and you’re not going to let it just slide by, they’ll probably be open to negotiation on your fees.

    Beside that, you need your records for the future, especially since they did all of that and did not fix the problem.

    Good luck.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 25, 2018 at 3:36 am in reply to: Correct Imaging?

    It would probably help you to re-summarize your problem. You have 34 posts to look back through, plus things might have changed since you originally posted, like your bladder problems. I can’t remember if you have a confirmed recurrence or if you think that you might have a recurrence.

    Good luck.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 22, 2018 at 7:56 pm in reply to: New member with lots of questions

    It depends. I have had my records emailed to me, sent via CD, and mailed in paper form. I’ve done it by phone, by filling out a form on a web site, and by emailing somebody. They all seem to be different. Mine were held in two different places, my surgeon’s office and the facility that he used to do the surgery, an ambulatory surgery center.

    It’s very common, for both personal records, and for referrals to other offices. I’d just call the main number of your surgeon’s office and start there.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 22, 2018 at 7:46 pm in reply to: Still not healed after 1yr Urachal Cyst surgery

    I don’t know a lot about wound healing but I would guess that the hypergranulation is a response, not a cause.

    Do you have your medical records? You can learn a lot even if you’re not an expert. There might be something there about suture materials, method of surgery, etc. that will tell you or someone on the forum something.

    One thing that I’ve learned about education is that when you get out you’re just a generalist, not an expert. They can only teach the basics within the relatively short amount of time that a person spends in coursework. Expertise comes from focusing and working in a certain field for a lengthy period of time. You should probably move on from the expert in urachal cyst surgery to an expert in difficult wound healing problems.

    Another thing that I’ve learned is that when problems happen, the original surgeon might spend too much time trying to solve the problem themselves rather than admitting it’s beyond their level. It’s a big problem in hernia repair with mesh. The people that implant it often don’t know how to deal with the problems, or don’t want to.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 22, 2018 at 7:24 pm in reply to: New member with lots of questions

    There’s really little point in being concerned now. If you had the surgery over a few months ago and you’re in good shape now then any ill effects will be slow in coming. There are, apparently, combinations of patient, surgical method, and material that work well. It’s unclear what that combination is, so there’s no readily apparent way to avoid the bad and seek out the good. That’s one thing some of us are trying to do via this forum, is to identify the good and the bad so that people can make better choices.

    Can you get a copy of your medical records and post the details of your surgery? There might be some clues there that will give some ideas of what to expect. Type of mesh, extent of coverage, TAPP or TEP.

    Good luck. Don’t worry too much about what is past. Please share more details if you can though.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 21, 2018 at 6:14 pm in reply to: Still not healed after 1yr Urachal Cyst surgery

    Two clinics that seem to have much experience in that area are OHSU, in Oregon, and the Carolinas Healthcare group, in North Carolina. Dr. Martindale and Dr. Heniford. Abdominal wall reconstruction is the topic you want to focus on, I think. The University of Tennessee Health Science Center also seems to have a focus in that area. Dr. Voller.

    This video is scary but gives some idea of how far they can go to solve a problem. Find an expert soon, I’d say, and don’t feel bad getting a second opinion. And don’t spend too much time trying to make insurance work for you. Our compartmentalized insurance system keeps people from finding the specialists that they need.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9c8JThMdAM

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 21, 2018 at 3:56 am in reply to: Successful, good "mesh" stories
    quote Jnomesh:

    Hi good intentions as someone who had his mesh removed 2 summers ago In which it was found to have curled up k to a rock hard ball I think knit would also be interesting to find people who have had successful mesh removal and more to the point successful recovery of symptoms prior to mesh removal.

    That would be a good thread topic. We could offer details about the experience, including what to expect over time, after mesh removal. I’m finding that the normal time to healing, after working the area, is much longer than for other types of injuries. Maybe due to lower blood flow, and the fact the area doesn’t move a lot while recovering. Unlike a limb or a muscle.

    I feel like I might be overposting on the site as-is, but would certainly add to a thread on that topic. Could you start one? Excellent idea to round out the topics.

  • I can only give an opinion based on my experience of having a mesh implant. After tissue ingrowth the mesh gets stiff and inflexible. It pulls and pokes at the tissue at its perimeter. I think that when surgeons say that the mesh is not causing the pain, they are only thinking of it as a primary cause, not a secondary cause, meaning that the strained tissue at the edges is a secondary pain, caused by physical movement, not by the mesh itself. It’s splitting hairs for sure, but that’s how things are done. I suspect that Dr. Earle is also focused on the secondary tissue strains, as potential hernias, causing pain, but not yet palpable. One common method of fixing those mesh edge-induced hernias is to cover them with more mesh. Dr. Towfigh has said in previous posts that mesh-induced pain can be caused by pulling on nerves. It might be that your injury and rehealing has caused tightness that is pulling on nerves.

    As far as mesh repairs “failing”, it’s really a matter of definition. If the original defect is still closed up, that will not be seen as a failure. If new hernias are created by the stiff mesh that will be considered a new problem. If the mesh stiffness itself causes inflammation during activity that will be considered a “mesh reaction”, a new problem.

    In the end, after mesh implantation, you have to develop a much higher awareness of what’s happening in your abdomen, to decide what to do about it. Over the curse of the three years that I had mine at times I could feel tissue rubbing across it where it sat on my pubic bone as I pedaled a bike, I could feel it poking in to my groins when I crouched. I could feel the seam down the middle between the left and right side pieces at times. It turned in to a stiff plate-like material across my whole lower abdomen. Like a plastic bucket.

    In many ways, the reasoning and solutions to the mesh problems show that the dynamics of the abdomen aren’t being considered. They are thinking of it as a static “bowl” that just needs to be patched up. Considering the fact that when they do surgery there is no movement, it’s not too surprising. Dr. Brian Jacobs even described moving a patients leg while operating to see what moved inside. A crude, and irrational way to learn, considering that there was no muscle tightening or tension, or torso twisting, or heavy breathing, just moving a lax leg. But it showed how he thought the abdomen worked while a person moved, like a static non-flexing bowl. Just a leg moving back and forth. It was surprising to see, it’s in the video I posted a few days ago. Having had the mesh inside my while I moved I know that’s not how things work.

    So, you probably already know what’s happening inside you. If you think that it is a stiff piece of mesh poking and pulling, well it’s not going to get softer. It’s going to stay that way. Since you had both sides done, you can compare one side to another to get a better idea of it’s the mesh or not, if the pain is caused by tightness or just movement. I found that I could reduce my problems by reducing activity, but they came back with resumed activity. I suspect that many people who don’t report problems just aren’t very active.

    Watch Dr. Kang’s video in post #8 of the link below to get a better idea of how it works. Since you had a very small piece of mesh implanted, 1×4″, compared to 6×6 inch pieces implanted laparoscopically, it almost seems like a surgeon would want to remove it just to get it out of the way so they can find your real problem. It’s probably about 3/4″ x 3″ by now.

    Wish I could add more. It’s really an individual decision. Good luck.

    Here is the link to Dr. Kang’s video, post #8. https://www.herniatalk.com/7365-please-watch-60-minutes-sunday-regading-mesh-in-the-human-body

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 19, 2018 at 9:32 pm in reply to: Successful, good "mesh" stories

    I’ve been browsing threads and found a success story. But I don’t know the details yet, beyond that it was performed by Dr. Goodyear, and might have used Ultrapro mesh (he was not sure in one of his posts. “pro” is used in many mesh brand names). And the description sounds like a direct hernia. Another post about scar tissue sounds like an open repair. Three years as of August 2017. I sent him a message, hoping for a response.

    So until corrected, another open surgery that has gone well.

    https://www.herniatalk.com/5335-3-years-after-surgery

    https://www.herniatalk.com/5099-femoral-hernia-new-to-all-this

    https://www.herniatalk.com/5953-how-long-for-bothersome-scar-tissue-to-go-away

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 19, 2018 at 8:52 pm in reply to: Flank hernia surgeons in San Diego?

    Here is an old thread that I just came across.

    https://www.herniatalk.com/195-lumbar-hernia-mesh-patch

  • Thank you Dr. Kang, that is a very nice compliment from a man of your expertise. I try to only write about things that I feel I understand, but am certainly learning as I go, and starting from almost nothing.

    My thoughts about going back in time with the mesh repairs are based on what I thought were promising early results that drove people to consider the tension-free repair as superior. But your video is very timely in showing how that thought process might be wrong. It is an excellent educational presentation. Thank you for supplying it.

    I can’t imagine that the big organizations behind the hernia repair industry would let people go back to non-mesh repairs. The large institutions resist change, if they are benefiting, no matter who or how many people get harmed. It will take time and constant pressure to get things to change, I think.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 19, 2018 at 2:19 am in reply to: Umbilical Hernia?

    Most mesh recurrence problems are not from the mesh tearing. They are from material getting under the mesh and working its way out through the original opening, or from the mesh folding or moving sideways and exposing the original opening. But tearing the mesh should not be your primary concern.

    Here is a thread with a comment from Dr. Kang about umbilical hernias. Post #13. https://www.herniatalk.com/5324-non-…pair-questions

    “Mesh” is the one-size-fits-all cover-all-potential-defects “cure” for almost any abdominal hernia. I would not recommend it to any family members or close friends. Which, basically, means that I would not recommend it for anyone. Not with the state of the industry today. There is still much denial about potential harm from mesh implantation. No way to predict what will happen. It’s a gamble with a very very high cost if you lose.

    Good luck.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 19, 2018 at 1:57 am in reply to: Flank hernia surgeons in San Diego?

    These guys have a description of it. At least. Looks like a very rare condition. Seems like they might know of someone with expertise.

    https://transplant.surgery.ucsf.edu/conditions–procedures/flank-(lumbar)-hernia.aspx

    Also looks like mesh has found another usage. It’s everywhere. If you’ve read some of the posts on the site, that could be a concern. Good luck.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4253923/

    https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/560572?redirect=true

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 18, 2018 at 5:30 pm in reply to: Post-Op Concern

    Get a copy of your medical records. From the facility where the operation was done and from your surgeon’s office. There might be some details there that will help.

    Get a second opinion. Although, I’ve found that sometimes surgeons will easily assume that the “other guy” screwed something up. They can be competitive. Still, worth doing. Did you choose your surgeon or just accept the referral from your physician?

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 18, 2018 at 2:51 am in reply to: Post-Op Concern

    It sounds like you had a direct hernia. You might recall from before the surgery if yours reduced when you laid down and reappeared when you were standing. If it is just swelling it won’t reduce like the original hernia used to. My direct hernia bump, in the initial stages, would disappear when I laid down. It might be a clue that can reduce some stress for you.

    Can you give more details on the procedure? TAPP or TEP, bilateral, type of mesh, direct or indirect hernia, etc.

  • Good intentions

    Member
    May 16, 2018 at 3:06 am in reply to: Successful, good "mesh" stories
    quote Milo:

    Here is my story 6 weeks post op

    Overall, very happy with the outcome.

    Thanks Milo. I wish you the best. Six weeks is early. Do you have more details on the type of surgery and the mesh that was used? I looked back through your posts and found where you said it was “lap indirect-inguinal mesh repair on the right side”.

    Stay in touch. Use this thread to post in every month or so. 6 months and beyond will be interesting.

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