- C
My brother-in-law is finally schedule to have a long awaited surgery in the middle of July! He’s been in pain for over 4 years after hernia repair surgery. The mesh used to repair the hernia curled up and formed a “meshoma” that is pushing on organs and vessels in the groin. His pain is constant - he cannot work, he cannot have a normal social life, and he can’t sit! His quality of life is not even close to what it should be for a man in his early 50s. Before the repair surgery he was very active and even a regular jogger! Can you imagine going from that to not being able to sit for over 4 years?
The radiologic scans done at the facility that participates with their insurance did not identify the problem with the mesh. He was told to deal with the pain through medication and then physical therapy. These options did not help one bit. The surgeons he consulted with locally used the reports from those scans, not interpreting the scans themselves, to make their decisions and recommendations and would not even acknowledge that it was actually the mesh that was the issue.
Just a few months ago, after a lot of researching and Google searching, he found a hernia specialist surgeon on the west coast who would evaluate the scans without him needing to be physically present in the doctor’s office (and avoid a long car trip which is hard to do when you can’t sit) . She identified the mesh problem–that was clearly visible in the first scan done just months after the repair surgery. She clearly labeled a bunch of the scan photos for him.
After more searching, he then found a New York surgeon with favorable reviews who has a special interest in mesh removal surgery; made the trip to NYC (they had to rent a stretch limo so he could lie down); and found the surgeon to be knowledgeable, experienced, and willing to do the surgery without putting in more mesh. What a huge relief!
The surgery is scheduled to take 3.5 hours and, as long as he remains an outpatient, their out-of-pocket costs for the out-of-network surgery will be around $30,000. (Could be double that if the procedure converts to inpatient!) On top of that they have incidental costs for transportation, hotel, and lost work time for my sister.
My brother-in-law is a private man and doesn't know I'm doing this. But after all these years, I needed to find a way to help and this is it. So, if you're in a position to help too, they would be most grateful!! After surger, a long (2 year!) recovery time is expected.
The radiologic scans done at the facility that participates with their insurance did not identify the problem with the mesh. He was told to deal with the pain through medication and then physical therapy. These options did not help one bit. The surgeons he consulted with locally used the reports from those scans, not interpreting the scans themselves, to make their decisions and recommendations and would not even acknowledge that it was actually the mesh that was the issue.
Just a few months ago, after a lot of researching and Google searching, he found a hernia specialist surgeon on the west coast who would evaluate the scans without him needing to be physically present in the doctor’s office (and avoid a long car trip which is hard to do when you can’t sit) . She identified the mesh problem–that was clearly visible in the first scan done just months after the repair surgery. She clearly labeled a bunch of the scan photos for him.
After more searching, he then found a New York surgeon with favorable reviews who has a special interest in mesh removal surgery; made the trip to NYC (they had to rent a stretch limo so he could lie down); and found the surgeon to be knowledgeable, experienced, and willing to do the surgery without putting in more mesh. What a huge relief!
The surgery is scheduled to take 3.5 hours and, as long as he remains an outpatient, their out-of-pocket costs for the out-of-network surgery will be around $30,000. (Could be double that if the procedure converts to inpatient!) On top of that they have incidental costs for transportation, hotel, and lost work time for my sister.
My brother-in-law is a private man and doesn't know I'm doing this. But after all these years, I needed to find a way to help and this is it. So, if you're in a position to help too, they would be most grateful!! After surger, a long (2 year!) recovery time is expected.