MarkT

Thanks @markt I’m hoping I don’t need to get an MRI because it’s expensive, and the surgeon can tell me what he’d recommend. Everything I’ve read said ultrasounds with standing Valsalva is the best way to see if there’s a recurrence, but really hoping the surgeons can chime in here and give me some good advice.

@drtowfigh – really admire you and…[Read more]

@MarkT – Thanks for the info.

Seems like the Kang method is a modified Bassini with special stitching and no cut of cremaster muscle or more invasive steps/techniques.

Has good success from the looks of it but would be nice to have a more complete and precise explanation of what exactly is done.

@markt

Regarding the cremaster… There’s a difference between the perspective of the provider and the patient.

We’re talking about a high-volume provider which has done hundreds of thousands of surgeries. From that perspective, reducing overall recurrence by a couple of percent (say from 3.5% to 1.5%) makes a difference of thousands of cases…[Read more]

@markt

That is great to hear. It’s good to know that this procedure is capable of providing such perfect results, and that it has done so well for you for so many years.

Do you know if your hernias were direct or indirect?

@markt

Do you feel 100% normal with these repairs? No pain, twinges, numbness, tightness, stiffness, discomfort, etc.?

@markt

Chuck got this study from Voeller who cited this one along with two other studies showing high rates of chronic pain with Shouldice. This was in the famous debate with Bendavid.

It will be very interesting to see the results of the chronic pain study which is currently being done at the Shouldice Hospital. Dr. Netto mentioned in his…[Read more]

@markt

Watchful waiting for inguinal direct/indirect hernias is a good thing for those whose condition allows for it. Sure, chances are they’ll need the surgery eventually, but there isn’t really a good-enough reason to do it sooner. The risks of surgery exceed the risks of not doing it in such cases, and the cure is worse than the disease. It’s…[Read more]

@MarkT Directly from the patient coordinator at Shouldice. I contacted them. The 2-3 years is for cases requiring general anesthesia. They just rarely do that. “2 per week, but demand for outweighs their resources.” Because I had mesh removal, they said it would probably need to be under GA. They stated specifically that at the moment “wait time…[Read more]

@markt

This is dangerous territory. Pretty much anyone who has significant medical issues (including surgeries or sequelae of surgeries) can be diagnosed with “psychological disorders” by one mental health practitioner or another. It’s a field where pretty much everyone can be diagnosed with something by someone, and they’ll be happy to “treat”…[Read more]

@MarkT

Because most of the time it’s marketed as exactly that….

@markt – thanks.

The loss of the cremaster reflex with this procedure is a certainty, not a risk. It’s mentioned in the German paper that I cited earlier in this thread. You can also search for cremaster in the following document which is in English and cites that paper:

New Clinical Concepts in Inguinal Hernia

“Tons and Schumpelick reported…[Read more]

Thanks @MarkT .That is quite reassuring.

I wonder whether you know the reason that my surgeon ,in the hour or so prior to my surgery reduced my inguinal hernia?

I had an ongoing defect that had been reducible for 2 or 3 years but a second defect ,closer to the scrotum had appeared in the previous 3 or 4 days and was more painful as well as…[Read more]

Thanks @markt for the concise review of the article.

I find it absolutely astounding that any surgeon would perform a mesh-based repair for a patient that is having his/her first hernia repair. Every surgeon knows (or should know), that a portion of their patients will have chronic pain after a mesh-repair. And, those patients will have to deal…[Read more]

@WB The OR Table you are strapped down. Sedation can be lights out and/or twilight. I woke up the last 15 mins of the Umbilical repair though and managed to watch part of the repair through the reflection of the OR light which was pretty awesome. I was super chill in twilight mode and gave the doc the thumbs up when he asked me if I was ok.…[Read more]

@MarkT – As I stated in the other post I believe this is why I think your input is critical.

Correct me if I am wrong but recently the Shouldice doctor from CA had some concerns regarding the abnormally high finding of 5% Chronic pain rate emanating from his hospital? Considering that particular hospital “cherry picks” patients it is an…[Read more]

@MarkT – The vast number of successful and documented repairs of Shouldice (and modified) is the biggest selling point. Follow up from you and others that have experienced it with success (including no loss of cremaster function) is a testament that there are other viable options out there besides the status quo mesh mesh mesh.

I think the point…[Read more]

@MarkT

There appears to be some omittance of information regarding the entirely of Cremaster manipulation in your description. For example: We know by talking to Shouldice doctors that they do at the very least remove up to 50% of “healthy” tissue in order to get a “tight repair” with some removing it completely.

This is not demonstrated or…[Read more]

@MarkT you made a considerate posting, which I hope helps PeterC. Let me mention something that he and others might have missed: PeterC’s claims are made not against just any doctor. They are directed against one who has contributed much to the Membership here. I believe Dr. Brown deserves fair consideration but that has been lacking in this case.…[Read more]