Any News On Desarda Inguinal Hernia Repair?
Posted , 32 users are following.
I was diagnosed with double inguinal hernia a couple of years ago and have been on 'watchful waiting' ever since.
I studied quite a bit in the early months and got horrified and worried by all the stories of pain and complications after mesh and laparoscopic surgery.
I found Dr Desarda's technique and rather lurid web site and was very impressed in the finish. His figures seem good. He has this immense benefit of no chance of mesh complications and the possibly equal benefit of not requiring extensive technical training on the part of the surgeon.
But I couldn't find a surgeon in Australia who would do it.
And the whole medical establishment in Australia, within and without the government - i.e. up to and including the Royal College of Surgeons and the Minister for Health - would do nothing, not the smallest thing, to even acquaint themselves with Desarda's technique, much less make it available to me.
Giving me a further reason to rely heavily on watchful waiting and hope for maybe a self healing.
Well no self healing has happened and I've never heard of any regimen that might promote it.
I now wonder what's happening with the world of patients and ex patients.
Anyone had the Desarda technique? Knowledge of it spreading? Is it becoming available? Or has it gone backwards for some reason, found to be flawed? Or laparoscopy improved?
Does anyone have any comment, any new information for me on this subject, please?
4 likes, 71 replies
eddie79022 abrogard
Edited
Hi, I'd just like to throw in some info from the UK - I've had a right hand side inguinal since February and recently started doing research about having it fixed. Having read just about everything available online I concluded that avoiding mesh would be highly desirable and that a Desarda repair would be my choice. How surprised I am that there are virtually no surgeons offering this in the UK (nor Shouldice), with everybody just offering mesh. There seems to be a lot of inertia in the system, despite growing evidence of the benefits that the Desarda approach offers.
However London Hernia centre have recently started offering the Desarda repair, so I am intending to follow this up (when Covid anxiety permits me to travel again)!
Jack2021 eddie79022
Posted
Hi Eddie,
I'm in the UK and in exactly the same position as you were last year. I'd be grateful to hear how you got on with the London Hernia Centre? If you've had your operation, did you have a Desarda repair, has it gone well so far and who was the surgeon please?
Many thanks,
Jack
lee36441 abrogard
Edited
Hi all. I had a Desarda repair three weeks ago in Berlin. The operation was performed by Dr Ralph Lorenz following a recommendation from another consultant. Dr Lorenz, who I believe has trained with Desarda and is also proficient in the Shouldice technique, has apparently done hundreds of operations using the technique. it was a little sore initially but I was nonetheless able to walk about 9km the following day, and my freedom of movement has been improving daily since. I'm very happy to answer any questions that anyone may have. Stay healthy!
Jack2021 lee36441
Posted
Hi Lee,
I'd be really interested to know more about your experience with Ralph Lorenz please.
How are you doing now?
Did you have the Desarda operation with a local anaesthetic and how long did it take?
Did you travel from the UK? If so, do they have a suggested hotel that you stay in for a few days and did you have follow up appointments before you flew home?
Any other useful information?
I'd be interested to know about the cost too please, though you may need to message me separately to do that as I don't think it's allowed in the general forums.
Many thanks,
Jack
lee36441 Jack2021
Edited
Hi Jack,
My experience with Dr Lorenz was very positive. I approached him by email initially and he replied quickly and answered all my questions. He is very passionate about what he does and has a solid track record of performing the Desarda technique (over a decade's experience, during which time he has done over 250 a year. He also trains other European surgeons in the technique). He made me feel confident that I was making the right decision.European surgeons in the technique. It’s worth mentioning that he can also perform the Shouldice technique.
My recovery so far has been good. I'm pretty much back to normal in terms of my routine, which involves playing tennis daily and doing five workouts a week. But I've built up gradually to that point. it takes about six months for the tightness/numbness in the groin to subside fully, although that in itself is not a limiting factor on doing everyday activities. The first six weeks or so are when you really need to take it easy and not do too much, too soon.
I had a local anaesthetic, so I was awake throughout. The operation took about 40 minutes if memory serves.
I flew from the UK and stayed at the Spandau Ibis hotel for one night (pretty basic) and the Select Hotel Berlin Spiegelturm for three (nicer). I also had one night in the hospital (which they recommend if you travel alone).
There is a follow-up appointment two days after the op, at which Dr Lorenz changes the wound dressing and checks everything is okay.
I'll message you over the weekend about the cost.
Hope this is useful. Good luck! Let me know if you have any further questions.
Scarlet9 lee36441
Posted
Hi Lee,
I'm booked in for a operation next month with Dr Lorenz and was interested to ask about your anesthesia. He stated anesthesia is usually provided with a laryngeal mask which I believe means a general anesthetic. Could I confirm that you definitely had a local and was awake throughout and that it wasn't a spinal you had? If so may I ask what the experience was like? Was you very much out of it, relaxed? do you remember much about it?
lee36441 Scarlet9
Posted
Hi Scarlet9, so sorry I missed your message, I've not logged in for ages. Hope your operation went well. It's a bit late now, but, for what it's worth, the injections were local rather than spinal. It was slightly unsettling at first, but after the first one the area quickly went numb and I was as relaxed as one could hope for. I was awake throughout. Anyway, I hope your recovery is going well - good luck.
l01685 Scarlet9
Posted
Scarlet9
How is your recovery after surgery? Can you please update on your surgery experience with Dr Ralph Lorenz in Berlin? Was Desarda repair method was used or other mesh free repair techniques? What was the total cost?
l01685 lee36441
Posted
lee36441
I have few questions - Did you had bi-inguinal hernia repair? How you feel after repair surgery? What was pain like in first 5 days? Do you have any issues of pain, tightness etc after repair? What was the total cost?
lee36441 l01685
Edited
Hi, again, sorry again for the late reply. My recovery, thankfully, has been excellent so far. I play tennis daily and go to the gym four or five times a week, so pretty active. I've had no issue related to the surgery at all.
I had a single inguinal hernia repaired using the desarda technique. The first five days were not as bad as I had expected. Walking was a bit uncomfortable, but I was able to walk quite far under the circumstances. The toughest thing was getting out of bed, which I found tricky. I had some tightness in the oblique muscle, but it has faded over time and I rarely feel anything now (17 months post op). The cost was around 2,300 euros.
Hope that helps and please let me know if you need any further info.
l01685 lee36441
Posted
Hi, Thank you for reply. Did Dr Lorenz use permanent or long term dissolvable sutures inside? How long cut was made outside? Do you lift heavy objects after surgery or restrict yourselves from lifting heavy object over 10 kg? I like to speak to you privately if possible. I am still scare of the whole surgery process and hospital. Hence I keep asking questions.
lee36441 l01685
Posted
Hi, sorry again for the tardy reply. I had long-term dissolvable sutures. The incision was about an inch and a half. I restricted my lifting for about three months, and built up gradually thereafter. I completely understand your anxiety, I was the same. Having had it done, however, I can honestly say it's not anything like as bad as you're probably imagining right now. I'd be happy to speak privately if you still want to, although I'm not sure what the forum rules are - do you know how to arrange this?
l01685 lee36441
Posted
Thank you for answering my questions. I'll check forum rules.
Jack2021 l01685
Posted
Hi l01685,
Have you had your surgery yet and if you have, did you go to Dr Lorenz?
Thanks
l01685 Jack2021
Posted
Hi Jack2021,
Dr Ralph Lorenz is based in Berlin. He is very experienced in ‘Desarda’ non-mesh surgery. There is a very good analysis about non-mesh inguinal hernia posted by ‘mark68066’ in the forum.
Thanks.