[jw20000]

My name is Jack Wilkerson. I am the patient referred to earlier in this discussion. I just came in from mowing most of a 2 acre property at home because of an impending rainstorm. This is 48 days after my hernia repair by Dr. Kang listed above. I started mowing the property on day 10 although I ran the mower slowly to avoid getting bounced around. I resumed my daily bicycle rides of 5 to 10 miles per day on day 23 with no pain or strain. I declined narcotic pain killers after surgery so I would feel pain if I strained the wound. Basically I had to learn the first 2 weeks how to sit down in bed and swing my legs up or down. There was no real pain, just an ache. A sudden cough was my only difficulty to keep it from causing abdominal pressure on the surgery site. I learned to expel without pressure. On day 3 I felt good enough to walk about 3 miles going to tourist sites in Seoul all day. About 5 miles the next day. On day 6 after surgery we traveled from Seoul to Los Angeles with about 22 hours traveling time connecting through Tokyo. I have no problem lifting 50 lb. containers. I have planted over 160 containers the past 2 weeks. There is a small bump under the skin where Dr. Kang sewed up the opening. That has declined steadily to maybe 2mm high by 12mm long under the skin so I don’t notice it either through pain or strain. So far everything about the surgery quality and experience is far above average. I find it strange that surgeons continue to claim Mesh Hernia surgery has lower complications. That reply is not true. I have surveyed friends and neighbors and everyone I meet. So far the failure rate in my local surveys is over 50%. One neighbor has had it done 4 times and his surgeon will not do it again even though he needs to for pain. Another friend has had it done 5 times. Only one person has told me he had mesh surgery once. He is sedentary. One FDA report indicates 47%. The constant TV commercials from dozens of Attorneys suing surgeons and Mesh suppliers on our local stations for pain and suffering indicate a burgeoning industry. Last week I even saw a clearing house phone number for nationwide teams of attorneys to sue surgeons. Because of my experience in medical product design and OR equipment, I find the failure rate to be unbelievable. How is it the Medical Malpractice Insurance companies have not banned the practice of mesh surgery? If attorneys did not win their lawsuits, the number would be limited to 1 or 2 firms, not dozens and growing. Surgeons must not continue to listen to Mesh Providers Reps phony claims. Follow up your patients. There should be no pain 2 weeks later unless the product is defective by design.