Hernia

ElCy

My DH has a baseball sized hernia and will probably need surgery. He is 75, probably stage 4. We are meeting with the surgeon on Tuesday. I’m obviously very worried about anesthesia. The hernia is quite problematic though. Any ideas?

M1

ElCy, ask the surgeon whether it can be done under a local or regional block.  Might well be possible.

harshedbuzz

ElCy-

This is a tough one.

Given his age and stage, I would be inclined to have the surgery. A few people have suggested having the discussion around anesthesia with the person who will be "passing gas", as it were, in addition to the surgical consult about whether something other than general anesthesia could be used. I've been told that some anesthetics- even within the "general" category are less problematic than others. 

My mom- who does not have dementia but is 84- had a lipoma on her scalp behind her ear removed. I did not relish the prospect, especially at the height of the pandemic, but she convinced me that it had been growing and was interfering with her glasses and hearing aid. The ENT assumed general anesthesia which upset me. I was open about my concerns the impact of anesthesia on her and he reiterated his need for her to be still given the location (which was why her derm wouldn't touch it). I explained that she'd had arthroscopic knee surgery, dental implants and 4 MOHS procedures while awake and alert. He listened but said he needed her out. Day of, I dropped her off and got a call less than an hour later from the surgeon who took another look at her medical records and did the surgery with a local and a little Versed. 

HB

Jo C.

M1 gives good advice as to what to look into; by the way, M1 is a physcian.

J.