PatientFriedman
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I am a patient of Dr. Kang and I just wanted to share my experience to hopefully provide some information for anyone considering having Dr. Kang repair their hernia. In April 2018, I went to Dr. Kang at Gibbeum Hospital in Seoul, South Korea. I am an American, but I currently live and work in South Korea. Prior to going to Dr. Kang, I was having discomfort in my lower right abdomen and testicles. I later started to notice a bulge on the right side of my lower abdomen. I was concerned that I was developing a hernia and went to a hospital near where I live in Korea to be looked at by the general surgeon there.
I was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia and it was recommended to me to have a surgery that would require mesh. I didn’t like the idea of having synthetic material sewn into my body, but I was not sure of the alternatives. I mentioned my diagnosis to one of coworkers, who is Korean, and he recommended that I go to Dr. Kang, who performs open hernia repairs without mesh. I read through the hospital website, watched some videos about Dr. Kang and read some posts on Herniatalk.com. Although I do not live in Seoul, I decided that going to Dr. Kang was my best option because he specializes in hernia repair and performs the surgery without mesh. My coworker was kind enough to call the hospital for me to schedule my surgery, however you can make an appointment through the Gibbeum Hospital website or by calling the hospital.
Upon my arrival at the Hospital I was met by the hospital interpreter/chaplain, Stephen Kwon, who spent some time studying in America and speaks fluent English. He helped me go through all the steps and paperwork and guided me around the hospital. I met with Dr. Kang who evaluated me and then sent me for two types of imaging. I believe one was an ultrasound and the other was some sort of X-Ray. The woman who operated the ultrasound equipment seemed very proficient at what she was doing and checked both sides to see if I had a bilateral herniation, which I did not. Everything was taken care of more quickly then I have seen in American hospitals.
After that I met with Dr. Kang again to go over the imaging. He said the imaging confirmed that I had a hernia and he asked if I would like to have the hernia repaired that day. Dr. Kang uses his own method of open inguinal hernia repair without the use of mesh. Prior to the surgery, I was given the option to have the incision closed with an adhesive rather than stitches, which was a little more expensive. I went with the adhesive and in hindsight I feel that I made the right decision. The adhesive comes off naturally so I did not have to go back to Seoul to have the sutures removed and the scar is supposedly less noticeable with the adhesive than with sutures. I also had the option to stay over at the hospital that night and be discharged in the morning, which I decided to do.
I was brought to the room I would be staying in overnight. Some other patients who would be having or already had the same procedure done that day were already there. I believe Dr. Kang does about 6 of these surgeries each day. I changed into the hospital clothing and the head nurse put an IV in my arm. Soon after I was brought to the surgical room. The procedure went pretty quickly and probably only lasted about 20-30 minutes. I apparently and had a less common type of hernia, know as a sliding hernia, which lacks a hernia sack and is a larger hernia. Dr. Kang said that the rate of reoccurrence for a sliding hernia is higher, however his technique is much better for this kind of hernia then a mesh surgery.
That night I stayed at the hospital and of course had some discomfort, but no more then what I would expect for this type of procedure. The hospital meal that was served for dinner was excellent and consisted of restaurant quality food, unlike hospital food I have seen in America. The next morning Dr. Kang came to check on me and discharge me. He game me a copy of his book on hernias, although my Korean language skills are not good enough for me to read it. He said the recovery time should be two weeks and within two weeks I was definitely feeling 90% recovered.
Before I was discharged the nurse gave me extra gauze to cover the incision, a few pills for the pain and some stool softener so I wouldn’t squeeze too hard when going to the bathroom. I had my surgery on a Friday morning, took the train home on Saturday, rested Sunday and was able to go into work on Monday. Over the past few months I have been monitoring the healing and the scar seems to be becoming less and less noticeable as time goes on, both visibly and to the touch. I did have some swelling post surgery, which from my understanding is normal and that has continued to return to normal over the past few months.
My experience at Gibbeum Hospital was extremely positive. The staff was very helpful, friendly and seemed very competent with what they were doing. This was the first time I had ever needed surgery and I did not have any family or friends with me at the hospital, however I still felt very comfortable because of the staff and Stephen Kwon’s help. I am very thankful that I was able to have a Doctor as experienced as Dr. Kang as my surgeon. I hope I will not develop any additional hernias in the future, however if I do, I plan on going back to Gibbeum Hospital to have any repairs done by Dr. Kang.
If you are not from Korea, but are interested in going to Dr. Kang for your hernia surgery, you can contact Stephen Kwon or Gibbeum Hospital. Stephen Kwon was extremely helpful and can help you schedule your surgery and even help you with hotels and transportation if you need it.
http://www.gibbeum.com/about/Gibbeum-Hospital.html#Non-Mesh+Hernia+Center
Call from overseas: (82)-10-8253-8699
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