MarkT

A quick note on study ‘paywalls’…

If you know anyone who attends a university (or has a kid in a university), you can ask them to try and pull a copy of the study you through their library’s online portal. It is free for them, takes literally a few minutes to find and download/print, and they can do this from home. Not *all* studies will be…[Read more]

Granting that there appears to be a fail/complication following the mesh removal and tissue repair at Shouldice, I have a few question (not sure if you are able to answer all of them):

1. How did the current surgeon ‘retroactively’ diagnose that there was no mesh rejection and that it should not have been removed?

2. What alternative…[Read more]

I doubt they are unaware of the status quo. Part of the purpose behind publishing research is to advocate for progress or change. This type of instrument and paper were no doubt developed (at least in part) because the status quo is to neglect this facet of patient care.

It is true that this is not *all* about the patients though…there is…[Read more]

I would say it is focusing on psychology *in addition to* physical results.

This is advocating for brief psychological engagement with individual patients, ideally by the actual surgeon (“Although the POPS could be delegated to another member of the surgeon’s team, we strongly suggest the surgeon engage the patient”).

It is not a c…[Read more]

Hi Peter,

I agree with Pinto that it could be helpful to engage with the people responding, although simply sharing your experience is certainly fine too.

I understand from your posts that regaining normal functioning, never mind a return to your previous athletic-level functioning, is not possible…I can only imagine how that must feel.

You…[Read more]

Hi William – I’ve actually been to Shouldice twice for inguinal hernia repairs. I had one side done 30yrs ago, the other about 18, I think. I really have nothing negative to report, as I had no post-op complications, no long term pain, and no impact on lifestyle/exercise/etc. ever since.

I have recommended Shouldice to many people over the…[Read more]

12 weeks is their current wait time for surgery…you can walk-in for a consult same-day, depending on how busy they are. Without a palpable hernia, I’m pretty sure they do not operate…but wondering if they do if you have imaging evidence. You can submit a medical questionnaire on their site and a surgeon will review it, potentially asking for…[Read more]

Thanks, I appreciate your response. It is anxiety provoking for sure, though it was indeed a relief for the initial ER visit to reduce the likelihood of an emergency problem.

It has actually been about 8 weeks now and the symptoms, despite no palpable hernia, leave me pessimistic that it is ‘only’ a strain…although that would be a welcome…[Read more]

It really depends upon the underlying problem as to which method is best.

AFAIK, the usual order of imaging tests for groin pain is ultrasound, then CT, then MRI (and at least some of the reason for that is cost, time, and the expertise/equipment needed).

Dr. Towfigh uploaded a HerniaTalk on imaging a couple of months ago, which includes…[Read more]

I think I found the answers to both questions:

1. Yes, MRI is the next imaging step when ultrasound and CT are negative/inconclusive. Dr. Towfigh’s MRI protocol can be found at the 36:00 mark of the HerniaTalk 67 video from Aug. 17, 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJcu8kHPkgA.

2. Tissue repairs are possible for occult hernias. Other…[Read more]

I have read that surgeon’s blog before and have HUGE problems with a lot of it. I may write a more detailed reply later, but I’ll say two things for now:

1. She ignores that the surgical community has not ‘moved on’ because the Shouldice method has been judged an inferior repair…in fact, it seems to have moved on primarily due to outside…[Read more]

Just last night, I watched the HerniaTalk Live with Dr. Samer Sbayi (Stoneybrook in NY) as guest. He trained for 1yr at Shouldice (700 repairs) and offers that repair.

Shouldice does use stainless steel (316L), but seems to ‘fallback on Prolene)? Dr. Sbayi uses the exact same stainless steel, but he also uses…[Read more]