I was facing "mesh" hernia surgery in 2 weeks. Thank God I found out about Dr. Petersen's no-mesh…read moretechnique in time...
My doctor had assured me that the mesh technique for hernia repair surgery was the no-brainer, no-worries way to go. The rate for post-operative hernia recurrence was only 2%. He even gave me the option of state-of-the-art robotic surgery involving only 3 small incisions with minimal pain, that would have me "back in the saddle" in just 2 weeks. Sounded good. When I asked him how many "mesh" surgeries he had performed, he smiled and looked to me as if he was counting.
"Hundreds?" I offered.
"O yeah," he said with confidence.
I made my appointment for surgery and left the office fairly optimistic, with a brochure in hand that explained the minimally-invasive, allegedly no-complications, no-side-effects mesh surgery. It all seemed so "slam-dunk."
But something about it was bothering me.
A few days later I went online to do my due diligence and check out this so-called safe and easy mesh surgery. What was this? 20% chance of chronic pain?...Debilitating, dagger-like pain from "migrating" mesh?...Horror stories of men who had lost their reproductive powers?...Doctors washing their hands of any liability?
Then I found Dr. Petersen's website. Honestly, after reading his information on the risks of mesh and the benefits of his technique, I felt both relieved and skeptical. Well, I figured, I may as well fill out the online questionnaire. It only took 5 or 10 minutes. The survey said Petersen's office would get back to me soon. This was Friday night. They contacted me on Monday.
A couple phone calls later, I was talking with Dr. Petersen himself. I had prepared a list of questions, including this big one:
"How many non-mesh hernia surgeries have you performed?"
"7000," he answered matter-of-factly.
"Around 7000?" I repeated the number, to be sure I heard it right.
"It's 7000," he said with quiet confidence.
Seven-thousand? Holy cow!
"And your recurrrence rate?"
"2.7," he replied, again without hesitation.
Only .7% higher risk than with mesh surgery. At that point I remember thinking I would sure like to go to Las Vegas.
Then the doctor had some questions for me, and he determined from my answers that with mesh surgery I would be at very high risk for chronic pain. I believed him, but still...he was 7 hours away by car.
So, a few days later I called my "mesh doctor" and asked him if he performed non-mesh surgery or knew of any doctor in the local area who did. He said No to both questions. I thought about bringing up the potential side effects of mesh. But he hadn't volunteered that information during my office visit, so how could I trust his answer now?
Dr. Petersen's frank yet soft-spoken manner had won me over. That was it. I was going to Vegas.
I cancelled my mesh surgery and scheduled a surgery with Dr. Petersen. Fortunately he was able to see me the following week.
Long story short, the trip to Las Vegas was worth it. I am very impressed with Dr. Petersen as well as with his staff and assistants. They were all friendly, reassuring and compassionate from beginning to end. And his office is checking in on me regularly to make sure I'm okay. (Will a mesh surgeon do that?)
I'm writing this testimonial 2 weeks after my surgery. Sure, there was and there still is some pain (Hello, it's SURGERY okay?) but it's fading day by day. If I wish, I could experience even less pain, but I'm not a big fan of pain pills. I took less than half of the pain meds Dr. Petersen's prescription allowed.
If you have a hernia and are considering mesh repair, listen to me. My only "agenda" is that I'm a very satisfied patient who wants other men and women to be healthy and live without chronic pain. Please, PLEASE...check out Dr. Kevin Petersen first. Fill out his online questionnaire so his office can contact you.
I'm confident you'll be glad you did.
--Jim B.
October 2018
P.S. Status report one month after my surgery: Kari called again from Dr. Petersen's office to check up on me. I was happy to report that I'm feeling great, just a little discomfort left when I push on the incision. A couple days ago I ran about 50 yards 2 or 3 times for a cool time-lapse camera shot, just because I felt like it! I wouldn't have braved that before my surgery.