Greg Michaels: Hernia Operation – Laparoscopic or “Open” (Conventional)?

Today was my consultation with the surgeon regarding my inguinal hernia operation at St. Mary's Medical Center in Lewiston with Dr. Eric Osborne. He is a cool cat. He went through what to expect before, during and after the repair and shared a few laughs.

It’s day surgery so I won’t need to stay overnight which I guess is a good thing. Meaning it seems like it will be a minor procedure in the world of operations.

The operation will take less than an hour and will be on February 7th. From what I understand, he’s going to put a mesh to block patch up the tear, so in theory it won’t happen again but no promises. Like patching an inner-tube.

The Doctor does surgeries on Fridays and this works out for me because I can get two weekends to recover. So I will be out the week of February 10th to the 14th. Thanks to all here at the station in advance for pulling my weight both figuratively and literally.

As nervous as I am, I know it will be okay. I’ll have the Olympics to watch and while “I’m at home resting comfortably.”

I have a few days to decide whether I want to have the procedure done laparoscopically or the conventional way. Why is there a debate?

I want to do some research to make my decision but from what the Doctor told me, later in life if something goes wrong with my prostate, it will be harder to get at if this procedure is done laparoscopically. If this it is done “open” or the traditional way, the recovery time is slightly longer and there is a bit more post-op pain. At this point I'm leaning laparoscopic but will decide by the weekend.

I know I’m a wimp, but as I said in an earlier post, this is the first time I will be put under except for just after birth for the same thing.

The next step is to have my pre-op visit which I understand will be with the anesthesiologist and will include x-rays and other general health tests.