Nash update from New Bolton Center

I just got off the phone with Dr Eric Parente.  He was very nice, explained everything and took the time to look a the hernia pics that I conveniently posted here in the plog.  I took notes of the conversation so wanted to share with you the positive news.

Nash would be admitted to the hospital for 4 – 5 days. On the first day Dr Eric would ultrasound it to find the margins and how close the hernia is to the last rib.  He will use the ultrasound to figure out what to anchor the surgical mesh to.  If it is close enough he might even use the rib for anchoring.  

The surgery would consist of general anesthesia and the insertion of the mesh.  After the surgery he would have a belly bandage for support.  They would use IV antibiotics followed by oral antibiotics.   Once Nash is home he would have to be in the stall for 2 -3  weeks with only limited hand walking.  This will allow time for the important scar tissue to form.

The end result is that the mesh would provide support from it getting bigger.  The results would not be flat against the stomach because it will have a round shape as the scar tissue fills in.

I asked about the risks:

  • What are the risks of having the surgery?  There is very minimal risks to the surgery itself.  The only one would be infection.  This is a low risk as this site of herniation has never been exposed to the outside world.  The fear is that there would be a low grade infection inside the hernia now and that would be opened up in the surgical process.  If the does occur then the mesh would have to be remove and the surgery would have to be performed again. 
  • What if we didn’t have the surgery?  It would continue to get bigger and not necessarily rupture but get to the point where it could become traumatized.  Meaning that if it was big enough it could be accidentally cut open and risk infection.
  • What is the risk of the surgery not working?  If we stick to the recovery plan, the risk of reherniation 

So good news all around. Back to fundraising!