I'll say it again, Shouldice is the way to go for a hernia operation. I have had so much positive feedback from clients who have been there or know someone who has and all have had positive results, some went for mesh repairs as well. I personally feel 100% my old self since going there 2 months ago. As far as care, the nurses are there for you, they feed you well and basically let you just relax, recover, socialize or just sit and read a book, no pressure, exercise at your own pace but make themselves available to you.
Amityjan

Mentat - "care" is not a concern, AFAIK. They do monitor you closely for 5 hours post-op, and then monitor loosely during 3 days stay there. What you should be concerned with, is a probability of chronic pain after the surgery. Other surgeons report from 10% to 30% patients having persistent pain more than 3 years after the operation, with 1% having a SEVERE pain. The causes are unknown. I tried to find similar data on Shouldice hospital, and couldn't. They only report 1% "failure" and 0.5% complications. (Like I said, many patients had chronic pain with no detectable complications, so those 0.5% doesn't tell me anything.

It's been 8 wks since my inguinal hernia surgery and just this past 10 days I have experienced some pain again. It feels very sharp and seems to occur after walking a lot. I'm not impressed any longer with Shouldice, when I recently called them with a question, they put me through to the 2nd flr nurses station (this is the flr I was on during my stay there and I wasn't very impressed with the grumpy nurses then either). I was about to go into the clinic on my way through Toronto this week only to be told that they weren't open on Monday. I was given no going home information regarding my recovery and I am finding it difficult to get any info from them. I will call again tomorrow to see if I can get a Dr. to return my call. Has anyone out there had this same experience? I have done no lifting or heavy activities other than walking. The whole area which was swollen to begin with has just recently started to go back to normal (I can finally fit into some of my regular pants) and maybe that has something to do with the intermittent pain.

Goodtimegal (not having a good time)!

Shouldice Hospital is receiving 10,000 emails a day from all over the world, and (I assume) hundreds of phone calls. Their "customers service" can be slow, understandably. Pain is considered chronic one year after the operation.

I found statistics of chronic pain for Shouldice Hospital - page 2, in the last paragraph after the Table 5 and before the heading "Key Features". It is 1%, according to R.Bendavid's "unpublished data". He is a former surgeon of this hospital, currently the president of American Hernia Society, more writing than operating lately: http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/416375 _2 (you might have to register, but it's free and they won't spam you).

Another statistics is here, from the United Kingdom, with relatively small number of follow-ups - 146 patients. They report 12% incidence after 3 months (which isn't a chronic pain yet), then exclude 4 patients that were cured by oral analgetics after 6 months and one who didn't show up again, and arrive to 9% of chronic pain. After nerve blockade injections (plus one surgery to re-attach the mesh) the number went down to 2% (3 patients out of 146).
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlere nder.fcgi?pmid=17853638

Nobody in medical world, unfortunately, is interested in pain statistics before 3 months, except for reasons of workers compensation (return-to-work time). 6 months seems to be an official recovery time, and with my mistrust in official statements I would think it's more like 12 weeks.

Sorry, typo - I meant "6 weeks seems to be an official recovery time".

I just today received a lengthy reply from Shouldice regarding these new symptoms I've been having. I was very satisfied with the in depth explanation given of the healing process. They also gave me the name of the Dr. on call if I wanted to speak to one. Therefore, it doesn't hurt to speak one's mind to the source - this time I got to the right people because I emailed instead of placing a phone call.

Goodtime gal

I am going to Shouldice on the 19th of July. Glad to hear that they have responded to your concerns and if i do have questions after I will do what you did and e-mail. Thanks for the tip!

I am back from my inguinal hernia surgery at the Shouldice Hospital. It has been 3 weeks since the operation and I have very little pain and swelling. Actually, the feeling is more one of discomfort than pain. I experience the most discomfort after sitting for a long time or early in the morning. However, it gets less every day and, based on how I feel, I think I will be back to 100% soon. I started wearing regular clothes about a week after surgery and, like goodtimegal, I also experienced more pain and discomfort due to the heavier and more tightly fitted clothes. However, this has subsided and I only experience this discomfort once in a while. So far, I think going to Shouldice was the best decision I made. Many people complain about their service and not being able to contact the surgeons, which is a valid complaint. The inaccessibility of the surgeons also frustrated me, but I consider this a small price to pay for highly experienced surgeons, low complication rates, fast recovery times, and low recurrence rates. I will give another update in 3 weeks so everyone will know how recovery is going. As of 07/09/09, in my opinion, Shouldice Hospital is best place in the world to get a hernia repaired.

From what I read, some pains may develop 3-5 weeks after the surgery (when cut nerves start growing and re-connecting again). Overall, from all the techniques, from 0.7% to 30% patients have some pain after 1 year. Different clinics and surgeons report different numbers and there is no clear correlation between the chronic pain incidence and method used. More than half of those pains can be successfully treated in 2-4 years by physical therapy, injection of "nerve blockades", and eventually by nerves cutting if necessary. These procedures (except for nerve cutting) are being done in "pain clinics" in the US and UK, but Canadian "pain clinics" are a joke, they are mostly WCB-sponsored "gyms" dealing with other injuries. Shouldice Hospital is claiming very low 1% percentage of chronic pain after surgery, and I have NEVER seen any their published research confirming such a statistics.

It is also important what type of hernia you have. Shouldice Hospital surgeons admit that their "pure tissue repair" (i.e. without mesh) does not work well for femoral hernia, or large direct hernia, or a recurrent hernia, and on such occasions they suggest using a mesh or not doing a surgery at all, because probability of chronic pain and hernia re-occurrence become to high.

I had right inguinal hernia surgery at the Shouldice in December 2008. I still have some discomfort and lack of nerve sensation 8 months after surgery. I was not at all impressed with the facility. It reminded me of an old-age home. Also the doctor who did mine had been there only three months and performed it unassisted by other surgeons...I had read it takes at least a year for a surgeon to become proficient in the Shouldice technique. I went there months earlier for the assessment and was assured it would be another surgeon doing the surgery ( this guy had been there for years and even published lots of papers on the technique) but they switched surgeons on me the day of the surgery. To top it all off I was 100% awake for the whole procedure and it hurt like a bugger. I had to ask 3 times during the procedure for more freezing. They're supposed to give you morphene or other sedative/pain killers to put you into la la land but the ones my doctor gave me had no effect on me. Also 14 out the 15 guys in the pre-op room were out-cold snoring and I was sitting up in the bed saying "hello...whatever you gave me is not working" but they did the surgery regardless. In hind sight I should have walked out of there. Nasty, hard, raised 6" long scar and lots of discomfort still 8 months post-op. Worst mistake of my life.

hi hernia_guy
do they tell you after the first examination hwo is going to perform your surgery?
or you only know that on the day of the surgery?
how did you know that your surgeon had been there only three months?
did you know that before the surgery or only afterwards?
is it not possible to ask for the surgeon that will perform your surgery?
and how much does the surgery cost?

Hi ted23.

I asked the surgeon in the pre-op appointment if he would be the surgeon performing the surgery and he said yes. They switched surgeons on me the day of the surgery. I had my wife google the other guy and found out he was a general surgeon at a hospital before coming to Shouldice....the nurses at Shouldice told me he had been there for less than 3 months. That's when I should have bolted out of there. I'm usually quite type-A about making sure the surgeon doing an elective surgery is competent.

In Canada, the cost of the surgery is free under our health care but the Shouldice charges semi-private room and board on top of that. Most health insurance plans cover at least that.

Hi hernia_guy,

I'm sorry to hear that you still have discomfort and didn't have the best experience at Shouldice. Is there any way you could tell me the doctor's name (if not please give me your email if possible).

I'm a bit afraid because I saw a surgeon and GP who both had trouble finding my hernia and said if I have one it is very small even though it is giving me a burning pain and I can't engage in any physical activity without the bulge getting bigger. My worry is getting all the way to Shouldice and having a less-experienced surgeon not finding my hernia or botching up the surgery.

I would really appreciate any assistance, I'm already afraid of the surgery, thought Shouldice was the answer and I'm just at a standstill.

Thank you.

I had hernia repair at Shouldice on Sept 30. Though the place may seem slightly dated, it is very well run, very regimented and lots of staff everywhere you go: no waiting for a nurse. I was originally scheduled for mesh-style repair in Quebec until I heard of Shouldice and decided to go there. While there was a point (about 10 minutes) during the surgery where I was pretty uncomfortable (not pain but more like someone grabbing and holding your crotch), the rest was fine. The first night I was in a lot of pain and could not walk, contrary to what they ask of you after 4 hours of surgery so they gave me demarol and I slept like a baby. Recovery has been slow ans steady. I was surprised how long recovery has been in that I have had to deal with 1 to 3 out of 10 pain/discomfort since the operation. Definite improvement day to day but I was surprised at the size of the inflamation (which they warn about in the pamphlet) under the skin. I have been able to walk long distances from even the 2nd day yet still now, 4 weeks later, some movements really hurt and I have yet to feel my old self and ready to get back to playing sports.

I had my surgery in Aug 2009, and enjoyed my stay. The first 6 hours after surgery are the worst but very managable. I stayed awake for surgery and I felt some discomfort that made me curl my toes but it was not anything to bad. The day after surgery I walked around alot trying to keep the area loose. I started doing some activity about 2 1/2 weeks after surgery but did not feel 100% and still had pain at different times. I went back to work about 8 days after surgery with some pain. Its now about 8 weeks after surgery, I can pretty much do anything but still will get some minor pains and the area feels sore in the mornings. I still have to go in for my post op assesment deal so hopefully nothings wrong and things just take time to heal.

Overall I found the experiance at the hospital to be relaxing, good food, quiet rooms and met some nice people

bart2009
Hi bart if you have a choice now, after your experience, would you go again to Shouldice

I had a hernia operation in June 2009 at a Hospital in Vancouver BC, and the hernia came back in October 2009. The General Surgeon told me he will be putting in a Bard plug and Mesh, which I am not to fond of. I am thinking of getting it done at Shouldice, anyone had the surgery done at Shouldice from out of the province? What is the cost?