Forum Replies Created

  • Mark

    Member
    August 26, 2020 at 3:48 pm in reply to: My experience with Dr. Brown’s Sports Hernia surgery

    I think many I not mist all hernia surgeons have a real disconnect of how and what these procedures mean to us. Granted they could take an extra minute to pause and give advice or opinions and answers when we ask questions. If we care enough to do the research to ask questions then do what is moral and guide us to make the best informed decision possible. I’ve consulted or reaching out directly to over 1 dozen of the most reputable tissue surgeons in the USA and not one didn’t get irritated when I asked a non easy question. Not one pointed me in the right direction rather they say to set up an online consult so they can make an easy dollar and still not give any useful advice. Same thing…you don’t know if you have an indirect or direct hernia and no way to test just come in let me cut you open and find out. If I ran a transmission shop and someone needed an oil change I know a shop that would do better for oil changes but I’m going to tell them I can do it so I get the business. Not right.

  • Mark

    Member
    August 20, 2020 at 5:33 am in reply to: My experience with Dr. Brown’s Sports Hernia surgery

    Thank you for sharing and I’m sorry your going through this. I’m looking for a pure tissue surgeon for my first time bilateral inguinal hernia surgery and ABSOLUTELY PETRIFIED of getting the surgery because of your example. Yes it sucks having lumps of hernia sticking out of my groin but my pain is minimal and I’m considering not getting the surgery until the last possible time…to avoid this from happening. I don’t want to look back saying I was way better off before the surgery. It just stinks that I can’t workout hard, hike or bike long distance anymore because I don’t want to aggravate my condition further and those 3 activities were my passion. It is devistating depressing not doing them but depressing as I can’t find any hernia surgeon trustworthy as of yet.

  • Warning! Dr Netto stated the shouldice hospital gives the patient the choice to keep the cremaster uncut…THIS IS COMPLETELY FALSE! He was not truthful on that.

  • Mark

    Member
    July 3, 2020 at 10:36 am in reply to: Dr David Chen – IMPOSSIBLE!

    Dr muschaweck said he does tailored pure tissue repair so there are few that do that. Worth checking him out but I too have reached out to his office months ago and no response and people there are beyond rude. Horrible indeed.

  • Mark

    Member
    June 21, 2020 at 11:24 am in reply to: Excercises to avoid for inguinal hernias!!

    And the most controversial question..after waiting plenty of time after healing from a hernia surgery, should someone ever go back to training abs, low back and core? Or should that person give core training altogether to avoid reccurances and simply diet and exercise other parts of the body besides the core indefinitely?

  • Mark

    Member
    June 21, 2020 at 10:05 am in reply to: Abdominal Core Surgery Rehabilitation

    I don’t see where is specifies what types of hernias the rehab program applies to…say for example male bilateral inguinal hernia??

    I emailed them twice to find this out and they DO NOT RESPOND!

  • Mark

    Member
    June 14, 2020 at 1:27 pm in reply to: Inguinal hernia & prostate problems – priority of care?

    Dr Towfigh,

    Your response was beyond helpful. You deserve a reminder…spending a minute to reply to someone’s concerns can help them obtain new insight and help them pursue such a more informed course of direction.. ultimately changing their life for the BETTER!

    I have pumped the brakes on the hernia surgery. I see the light with needing to fix the prostate issues first. Then getting back to the hernia repair.

    You mentioned the majority of people being able to manage prostate health using medications but do you feel this approach would be less effective compared to prostate surgery if my number 1 goal is the hernia not to recurr? What I mean by that is basically I have 2 options for the prostate/BPH, treatment with medications or surgery. I lean to surgery because my rationale is I don’t want the risk of the prostate problems to come back down the road after I had a hernia surgery and risk jeapordizing that. To me there seems to be a higher risk of prostate issues coming back on a medication. Not only may it take a lot longer finding a medication that actually works but if it begins working less effectively over time then you may be in a bad position considering by that time I had the hernia surgery and it begins to compromise that hernia repair. Versus, having the prostate surgery I think there is a less chance for it to begin to get bad again and less chance to damage that hernia repair.

    You mentioned 98% prostate surgery is done robotically and there is little or no issue if “you have had” a mesh or tissue based hernia repair. In those cases someone has “not had” a hernia surgery and they are going to have the prostate surgery done first, what type of prostate surgery is most effective at giving the highest chance of soft tissue hernia repair success? In other words, I’m looking for what type of prostate surgery is best to maximize my chances for a pure tissue repair. Concerned certain types of prostate surgery will hurt my chances to a pure tissue repair or does it not matter in a case your doing the prostate surgery first? Is there an optimal time someone waits after the prostate surgery before moving to have the pure tissue repair done? I ask this because I understand many people tend to see how “soon” they can have the hernia repair done but the real concern should be not how soon but how long is best to wait to get the best chances for hernia repair long term success?

  • Mark

    Member
    June 12, 2020 at 11:53 am in reply to: First Inguinal Hernia! Requesting thoughts from the experienced

    I couldn’t agree more with going in the tailored approach direction…but real world it is not too feasible because there are so few choices. I think dr brown I a great option which I’m exploring but facing a hurtle of being on the east coast. And I don’t know if any other surgeons who offer a tailored approach in the USA.

  • Mark

    Member
    June 11, 2020 at 4:36 pm in reply to: hernia repair shouldice technique

    What if a prostate surgery is needed, how long does someone have to wait before pursuing a pure tissue repair for the hernia? Does having the prostate surgery before cause scar tissue or compromise the pure tissue hernia repair in anyway?

  • Mark

    Member
    June 11, 2020 at 7:24 am in reply to: First Inguinal Hernia! Requesting thoughts from the experienced

    Thank you for this insightful reply!you bring a good question to why I’m going after the shouldice. I guess I have my blinders on a bit because I know that is the statistically most successful pure tissue repair. Too many choices becomes paralyzing..and finding a great surgeon who “does it all” with a taylored approach seems to be good and bad. Good they can taylor it to me. Bad that they may not do a specific repairs frequently enough to yield the best results.

  • My question is for both Dr. Towfigh and Dr. Netto.

    I’m a 43 year-old male in excellent health, very active with exercise and outdoor activities. I’m 190lbs at 6 feet tall about 15% bodyfat. Non smoker, no medical issues, no prior hernia surgeries. I have a bilateral inguinal hernia and have read myself into confusion and am overwhelmed in trying to find the best surgeon and hernia repair that gives me the best chance of long term succes. I’m convinced to go with a pure tissue repair. So Dr. Netto, do you feel the shouldice repair is the optimal choice and why? To Dr. Towfigh, what type of pure tissue repair, if any, do you feel is most optimal and why? If you both say shouldice, Dr. Towfigh do you feel you perform this as effective as the should’ve hospital that markets themselves as being the very best out there due to the volume in which they perform? (Yes I’m putting you both on the spot!)

  • Mark

    Member
    September 16, 2020 at 5:18 pm in reply to: Heat or Ice for watchful waiting inguinal care??

    What if I have no pain but just want to put something in there to keep the tissues soft is it ok to use a heating pad or do you think that had any chance at making the hernia larger and/or worse long term?

  • Mark

    Member
    July 11, 2020 at 11:56 am in reply to: Dr Bruce Ramshaw – long time off!

    Good intentions,

    Amazing response and info…very thankful! I had no idea, I watched the interview on herniatalk and he is all about research rather doesn’t really talk about actual hernia surgery like the other guests. it was disappointing to say the least. If that is the case…I will rule him right out as I’m only considering pure tissue repair as this is a first time surgery for me. Thanks again!

  • Mark

    Member
    June 28, 2020 at 8:30 am in reply to: Bilateral Inguinal Hernia – Direct or Indirect? VIDEO

    Its confusing if they see the hernia on physical examination and don’t want imaging to distinguish between an indirect and direct hernia because there the pure tissue repair options are different based on if you have an indirect vs direct hernia. For instance dr brown, dr kang, dr Szotek are fans if using a marcy repair on a mid to small sized indirect inguinal hernia and going with a shouldice repair for instance with an indirect is “overkill” as you don’t need to reconstruct the floor or tissues that are already healthy. However, shouldice and other non-marcy types are more for direct hernias and not for indirect. I also understand incision size and location is optimal based on what repair type the surgeon plans to use which is important in knowing if it is likely indirect or direct. And last, some surgeons only offer certain types of pure tissue repairs. Dr Brown is the exception there. But for example Dr grischkan offers only 2 layer shouldice, dr yunis only offers shouldice and desarda, most do not offer an indirect repair like the marcy as I believe only Dr brown does. So if a surgeon only does shouldice 4 layer, shouldice 2 layer, desarda, ect… Which are not type specific for an indirect hernia then I’d probably not go there to begin with knowing I had an indirect hernia. My thought process was..confirm if these are indirect vs direct with the highest possible accuracy. If indirect seek treatment with dr brown or someone who can perform a marcy and be “tailored” incase something else is needed like reinforcement in addition to the marcy. If direct hernias then go straight to the shouldice hospital. Thoughts, am I missing something? I reached out to dr. Pauli after watching the recent herniatalk because it sounded like he is the very best at imaging and diagnosing if this is indirect versus direct. Dr pauli said any doctor including a pcp could all perform the inguinal ultrasound because they are easy which conflicts what you and he discussed on the episode…that ultrasounds are great if they are administers in the right hands. I am willing to go anywhere for a physical exam and imaging to accurately confirm if these are indirect, direct and to what degree. My left side is so small and never goes in or out..it always stays out which thinks it will be hard to confirm if this is a hernia or what type. And doctors you feel are great at diagnosis and imaging please advise.

  • Mark

    Member
    June 27, 2020 at 1:18 pm in reply to: Marcy repair in adults with Inguinal hernia.

    You suggest core based excersises can relief symptoms for inguinal hernias..does that apy to both direct and indirect types? I’ve been doing no core exercises in fear the twisting and movement will “spread” the hernia making it worse. Is that true?

  • Mark

    Member
    June 21, 2020 at 6:57 pm in reply to: Excercises to avoid for inguinal hernias!!

    I’m shocked this question never seems to develope good scientific answers over time. Answers tend to be guesses and various opinions but nothing is every quoted with science or study’s. I’ve spent 25 years working out it has become a way of life. BUT IF I KNEW JEAPORDIZING WORKING OUT EVER AGAIN WOULD CAUSE HERNIA COMPLICATIONS OR RECUURRANCE…I WOULD NEVER TOUCH A GYM FLOOR AGAIN NOR DO ANYTHING BEYOND WALKING. Looking good and feeling good are important but having no hernia is FAR MIRE IMPORTANT…IT IS EVERYTHING. I just wish I knew if giving it up completely, or how much to give up, would increase my chances of no hernia issues coming back.

  • Mark

    Member
    June 14, 2020 at 12:14 pm in reply to: First Inguinal Hernia! Requesting thoughts from the experienced

    Dr towfigh – thank you for the response…I can now breathe and be more patient getting the surgery having less sense of urgency knowing my testicle isn’t is danger. Panic started when I thought the blood flow was being cut off when I saw it moving when breathing…but priceless response thank you!

    Alexander – were in the same boat…I agree tend to lean to wait for covid to subside before going out west for the dr brown repair. I’m also facing having my urinary retention bph issues resolved before the hernia repair as if the hernia wasn’t enough!

  • Mark

    Member
    June 14, 2020 at 11:02 am in reply to: hernia repair shouldice technique

    So say someone has a surgery for the prostate. You indicate a minimum of 3 weeks is needed to then have the shouldice, or any other open pure tissue repair, completed. Does waiting longer to have the hernia surgery increase the chances of a more successful hernia repair? Does the prostate surgery cause scarring or compromise the ability to get the same end results with a pure tissue repair? Is there 1 particular type of prostate surgery that will be best to have to increase the pure tissue hernia repair surgery?

  • Mark

    Member
    June 14, 2020 at 10:50 am in reply to: Bilateral Inguinal Hernia – Direct or Indirect? VIDEO

    Thank you docs for the replies! Is it even important or is there even a need a test to help verify if I have a direct or indirect hernia? I ask this because I gather a general consensus that most surgeons do the repair the same way? Meaning of if I was to have a pure tissue shouldice or similar repair…essentially they will cut you open and visually verify what they are dealing with then proceed to repair with that shouldice say for example. So if it were direct or indirect, they are still essentially doing the similar repair. So why incur the added cost and time associated with diagnostics when they are not very reliable and it don’t seem to matter (from a patient novice perspective)?