What makes our surgery better or different?
Our surgery is better or different because it starts from the premise that all evaluation of sports hernias is dynamic. When the patient comes in, he or she complains of dynamic pain; that is pain with activity only. If they rest, it goes away and then comes back. Therefore, when the patient comes in, both Dr. Drew McRoberts and myself look at the patient and ask the history about the dynamic nature of their problem and then do a dynamic ultrasound. If you read much of the literature, most offices do not use both a sports medicine physician and a surgeon to evaluate these, as well as someone that is qualified in the ultrasound evaluation of hernias. By combining the two, we, therefore, can look at things closer and make sure that the problem truly is a sports hernia. If the problem is truly a sports hernia or a bulging that was seen in the lower abdominal wall, only then is it agreed upon by Dr. McRoberts and myself that the patient should go to surgery. Once they go to surgery, again the surgical approach is dynamic. No other surgeons in the country employ a dynamic approach.
The reason we came up with the dynamic approach in surgery is that we were frustrated by the fact that in our early cases, the patient was under anesthesia and could not respond dynamically during surgery and we could not verify the defect. Although some people can say they can see this laparoscopically, we can see it as well dynamically. We use the approach that once we see this, then the defect is corrected. In addition, most studies say that patients also have an additional indirect hernia or femoral hernia. We can address those at the same time; we can see them dynamically and treat those as well. Our surgical approach is also different because we know that athletes will tend to break down an inadequate surgical correction, especially along the ligamentous and muscular borders. Therefore, we have made a point to secure these areas.
Who should contact us?
Athletes that have groin pain that has been evaluated and felt to be a sports hernia are certainly those that should contact us. Others that are not sure of their diagnosis, have seen multiple physicians in orthopaedic/general surgery and sports medicine world should also contact us. College athletes that have been seen by their trainers and have been told they may have a sports hernia but have to return to play as soon as possible should contact us. Patients that have had a hernia repair but are not improved should contact us as well. It should be known that if one does not have a hernia but you have a muscular tear, a hip problem, or other unrelated problems, we may evaluate you and not recommend surgery. This can be frustrating for the athletes that come to us and are told they have a sports hernia but diagnostically, through a physical exam and ultrasound, do not show this. We would recommend a return to a rehabilitation problem at that point in time.
How does our program work?
A patient calls to get a referral. The patient sees Dr. Drew McRoberts and I, typically on a Wednesday. If we agree that the patient has a hernia, then surgery is scheduled for the following morning. Patient is discharged that day but will have a reevaluation the following day to make sure there are no problems during that time. A review of the physical therapy and rehabilitation course will be reviewed by a physical therapist. The physical therapist will make sure there is a contact to guide the patient in the rehab program. Rechecks are typically done at 3-6 weeks. However, if the patient lives far enough away, contact through the phone may be done. We have had several athletes from the Middle East or from Australia that have not been able to return because of travel constraints. This is very typical for treatment of sports hernias.
Click the below link for more information
http://www.sportsherniaclinic.com
No comments:
Post a Comment