Is Hernia Surgery Painful?
Hernias are a progressive condition, and some patients delay surgical treatment because they are worried about the potential pain of surgery. This blog discusses pain after hernia surgery and how you can minimize it. Straight to the point? You’ll be happy to know that hernia surgery pain is less of a factor due to better technology and newer surgical techniques. Yay!
What You Can and Can’t Drink After Gallbladder Removal
Gallbladder surgery or cholecystectomy is one of the most straightforward, common, and safe general surgery procedures in the United States. Millions of these procedures are performed yearly, and there are many myths and misconceptions about the surgery, especially regarding postop diet, weight gain, and what you can or cannot drink. This blog will discuss the latter to ensure you are as comfortable as possible after your gallbladder removal.
How to Avoid an Incisional Hernia After Any Surgery
Incisional hernias are those caused by a perforation of the abdominal wall. While this can occur due to accidents or victimizations, the most common reason for an incisional hernia is a prior surgery. When we have surgery, the abdominal wall and its fascia are compromised. Unfortunately, while these areas do regenerate and ultimately repair themselves, the repair is never as strong as the original untouched tissue. These areas can weaken over time and eventually abdominal contents can begin to push through causing an incisional hernia which typically presents as a lump and pain in the area of previous surgery.
What Does Barrett’s Esophagus Mean and Why It Matters
Almost every American suffers from intermittent acid reflux; however, when heartburn becomes chronic, this is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. GERD is one of the fastest growing GI complications in the United States and is mainly a result of the decline in physical activity, combined with less healthy diets across American society. Unfortunately, the effects of GERD do not simply end with discomfort, which may be severe, by the way; instead, there is the potential for significant longer-term complications, some of which cannot be reversed. One of these is known as Barrett’s esophagus.
Do Probiotics Work for Gut Health and Weight Loss?
As obesity becomes an ever-greater part of the national discourse, we have learned that several issues can potentially contribute to the inability to lose weight. One of these is gut health. Years ago, we didn’t understand why, for example, the gastric bypass was so effective at putting diabetes into remission within days or weeks after surgery. We later concluded that the gastric bypass’s effect on the microbiome resets or rebalances hormonal markers, improving insulin resistance and other significant metabolic issues. We later discovered that many intestinal problems like Crohn’s disease and irritable bowel syndrome are partly caused or worsened by poor gut health.
Of course, gastric bypass is not for everyone, and many patients wonder what they can do to improve their gut health without going under the knife. One of the most touted options for gut health involves probiotics. These are foods and drinks containing potentially billions of beneficial bacteria that claim to improve gut balance. While there is no doubt that probiotics are essential to our digestive system, do supplement probiotics make a difference?
Does Chronic Pain After Hernia Surgery Truly Exist?
Hernias are exceptionally common in the American adult population. This is especially true in men, who disproportionately suffer from inguinal hernias and make up more than 75% of all hernia patients. Inguinal hernia repair is not as straightforward as other abdominal hernias, such as umbilical or incisional hernias. This is because several nerve bundles and structures in the groin area must be identified and preserved during surgery.
If you have researched inguinal hernia repair, you will have likely come across the concept of chronic pain after this type of surgery. There is some debate about the prevalence and incidence of this chronic pain, but it most certainly exists and is a potential risk of hernia surgery that you should be aware of.
Groin Pain Name Game – Sports Hernias
A hernia is a protrusion of anatomic structures from one body compartment into another that typically develops in natural transition areas and tissue seams. They can also appear at iatrogenic (surgical treatment) incisions. Hernias may describe conditions of the brain, vertebral discs of the spine, the ribs, the diaphragm, and abdominal, pelvic, or muscular structures.
However, a Sports Hernia is not, in fact, an actual hernia, as there is no bulge or protrusion out of a body compartment. It is a condition of strain, injury, or irritation of the hip’s adductor-longus muscle and tendon where it attaches to the pubic bone. It occurs most often in athletes performing activities that cause high torque strain of core muscles and hips in abrupt and powerful movements. It is more appropriately termed Athletic Pubalgia, which better describes the discomfort of this area. The area where Athletic Pubalgia occurs is adjacent to and therefore commonly associated with an inguinal (groin) hernia.
Is This the Future of Curing Rectal Cancer?
Let’s get right to it. Probably, for the first time in history, a cancer study at a major cancer facility has shown complete remission in 100% of the study participants. More specifically, the recently approved immunotherapy drug Dostarlimab or brand-name Jemparli showed results that would make even the most experienced cancer physicians do a double-take.1
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute in New York City enrolled 12 patients in a study of Dostarlimab, a single-agent PD-1 blockade, to treat a particular form of mismatch repair-deficient recurrent or advanced solid tumor rectal cancer. After receiving the therapy, all 12 patients went into remission. No other cancer therapies such as chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery were performed. They were completely cancer-free in physical exams and advanced diagnostic testing such as MRI and PET scanning. This is nothing short of remarkable.
Can Gallstones Cause Gallbladder Cancer?
One of the most significant patient concerns after being diagnosed with gallstones is whether these stones can lead to gallbladder cancer. The short answer is that we don’t have any evidence to suggest that average gallstones cause gallbladder cancer. However, studies have shown that there may be a very slight increase in the incidence of gallbladder cancer in patients that have very large gallstones – those greater than 5cm.
What You Can Do to Prevent Recurrent Hernias
A recurrent hernia occurs when a defect redevelops in the same area after a surgical hernia repair. Groin (inguinal and femoral) hernias may recur in about 1 to 3 percent of repairs. Abdominal (ventral and incisional hernias) may have up to a 10 to 15 percent chance of recurring. Complex hernia repairs such as the diaphragm and paraesophageal hernias, among others, could range up to a 20 percent recurrence rate. These are broadly accumulated statistics, so consider that multiple factors are involved in hernia occurrences and recurrences. There are various means for patients to be proactive in their risk reduction.
