Haach,
I think you can still reach him at 514-935-4888.
Haach,
I think you can still reach him at 514-935-4888.
I just dropped off JC Sportsman at his house and went on a 1/2 mile walk with him. He had a bilateral with 2 adductors and a hernia (belly button).
He was moving very very good for someone operated on less than 24 hours ago. I am sure he will be on here to update.
He looked amazingly well for a double whammy.
ARenko wrote:
Mello,
Did you get the procedure pre-approved or just submit everything afterwards? If pre-approved, did Dr. M's office give you anything to work with?
No pre-approval. I spoke w/ the Germany Mondial rep prior to having the surgery and he gave me the warm fuzzy that I'd be reimbursed. To be honest, I didn't care though.. Hope I get reimbursed, but my mobility was worth the expense; especially when you consider the alternative. Judging by other posters on this forum, UM is cheap even if you have to pay out of pocket. The entire procedure including medication, travel and hospital stay was less than $7500 US. It looks like a stateside surgery costs well in excess of 10k w/ an insurance subsidy. If you want to give me a call to discuss details, email me at
mellodrama@live.comand I'll give you my number. I'm headed to Europe for work Sunday morning for several months so if interested, hit me up before then. Ciao.
Im baaackkkk...............Thanks for the Ride Albert.....Albert is one good dude and it was a pleasure and Ironic to do do my 1st half mile with him...Life sure is strange how people come to unite......
A quick recap....Yes I had the Meyers MRI Nov 2008 which showed the left RA and adductor tears and on physical exam a belly button hernia.....My plan was to have the surgery in the summer of 2009......Original Injury date was Jul 2004...ist year pain was strictly low left ab. pubic and groin.........over the next 2 years pain spread to left hip. left SI Joint and lowback/sacrum........the last 2 years pain symptons would bounce around to other side..but it was always 90-95% left and 5-10% right.......In Feb 2008 the right side became noticeably worse in the low ab, pubic, groin and hip and it was pretty constant and would kind of drown out the original bad side (left)....So Meyer wanted to get another MRI before the surgery if he can sneak one in which he was able to with only 2 weeks notice...(I didnt discuss my concerns with him until 2 weeks before my surgery date...thank god i did)..well this new MRI showed tears on both sides in the adductor/RA regions........He said I had two large tears and Im not sure if the large ones were the RA's or the Adductors or one of each or what side etc since time was short and I was grogy when I talked to him. But I will get all info when they send me my MRI and O.R. reports and when I talk to him next week
The worst part for the whole thing was all the waiting around on both exam day and surgery day.......On surgery day I was the last one ...waited from 10am to 2:30 in one room then from 2:30 to 3:30 in the pre-Op room.....I was on the table about 3:45 and the first time I noticed the clock in recovery was close to 6pm......total operation time as 70 minutes of which Meyers actual work was 50 minutes.....
Not bad for Bi lateral RA tears, Bi lateral Adductor tears, Bi lateral Adductor release and Belly button hernia repair as far as I know...maybe something wasnt as bad once he was in there but wont know till I have the O.R report
Right now 24 hours after surgery right side pain is about an 8 and the left side is about a 5...belly button is about a 3...His only Concern/question is does not know how the adductor releases would affect my hips (mild arthritis) since this would loosen up the area and create more movement...The good thing is I had the arthritis before this injury and had Zero pain from it but after the injury I noticed the arthritis pain so Im hoping getting put back together there will not be a pain increase....Time will tell
Got my mile walk in and think Ill go for another 1/2 mile tonight......dont get me wrong though...Very Very sore......Worst part of the whole thing was coming out of the anestheia ....the night at teh hospital was very comfortable ...but the next morning around breakfest felt very sick to my stomach from the cab ride to the airprot and most of the flight home....Ill take the pain over that sick feeling anyday..........thanks for all the well wishes
One more thing I meet about 5 people in the MRI waiting room and a few praised this site for the informaiton on here and a few even new me once I said I was JCSportsmen...........My hospital roommate was a nice 67 year old gentlemen that looked way younger then 67....but thats right 67 and a NON ATHLETE and he had the Bi-lateral RA/addcutor done and I think he also had the Bi lateral adductor release but not sure....Im sure he will chime in here soon.......Just shows anyone can get this
that's great JC... the pain will be gone soon! The first two days are the worst... after that, not too bad.
Haach,
As far as the debt goes. I suppose it depends on how much and just like many other things surrounding this Ap, it Messes with your mind about what your feeling and whether or not it can actually be ameliorated.
I feel that as long as the doctor, Meyers or other, find the trouble points and sure them up properly (that's their specialty) then it will be up to you from there. After suffering for a long time and restricting activity, one has to make a decision. For me this is the second surgery 06 and 09.
The first one, I was under the impression I would be fixed and I had 2 early (just after surgery traumas to the tissue-would explain if necessary) and I feel that this may have prevented me from healing optimally. So, i decided to let Meyers get a second crack at the tissue that Might... might have been disrupted post first surgery. As for you buddy. I think considering all you complications, mild or otherwise, you will improve. Perfection is difficult to say. Based on my experience with this. Factors include age, if doc gets all the right spots, and finally taking charge of rehab-going slow and remaining patient. It can be done in my opinion. I think I will know my true results in a month from now.
Back to $- Plead with Meyers to get on payment plan, preauthorize everything with insurance and pester them. Also-just a thought- If Current health care starts to change this surgery may be the type that is not allowed in the future. Said too much, but these are some of my thoughts
Yoga kicks ass and will let u know if you have a problem
Done
haach,
My first Meyer MRi forme was around $2600 back in Nov 08.....sInsurance still hasnt put there price on it yet adn the last time I talked to my insurance back in Dec shesaid it was hung up because there was something about my injury being from an Auto accident and another insurance being involved ....No clue where thye came up wtih that one,,,but she said she would resubmit and it would be taken caren of.....I wont bother calling again on it unlsee I get a bill....in todays world of mistakes it probably got lost in the system..I had a local MRI 4 years ago that was lost in the system and was never billed....a break I sure deserved!!! with all the $$ I put out for this
Haach who did your first surgery??????....and was it Yoga too early inthe rehab that messed it up? I would think any over stretching too early after this surgery would not be a good thing Until those tendons are fully healed.......everything is like a step ladder for rehab....step by step adding a little at a time...And sometime early on you have to stay on the same step till your ready for the next....If you try to go up 2 steps at once you will take a step or 2 back and just delay your recovery....I would say Meyers would be your best choice since he will leave no stone unturned.....longer recovery but thats because it is open surgery/longer incision and he goes deep in right to the tendons
One thing I did ask him is If I should have ART done on my adductors.]....He said No .....I jsut did your ART by the adductor releases I gave you with a big smirk onhis face.....plus he said very important to do self massage on them 2x a day the first 2 months along with getting a massage from an LMT 1x a week...
Haach MRI is 2600 before Insurance takes a bite out of it.....who did your first surgery??
concerning Meyers' fees, here is my experience: Oxford covered my MRI, so I don't know how much that cost. They wouldn't cover the surgery, and I paid $3500 out of pocket to Meyers' office for the procedure (bilateral/no adductor release), $8000 to the hospital and $1000 to the anesthesiologist. So total out of pocket $12,500. Marcia tells me someone recently appealed to Oxford successfully, so I am planning to try my luck.
JC, so glad to hear your procedure went well and that you're on the road to recovery. I had a similar experience as you with pain only on one side at first but the tear also on the other side that didn't become symptomatic until recently. The first few days aren't fun but you'll be feeling a lot better soon. I didn't have the release, but 9 days after surgery I am walking around pretty good -- no more shuffle/waddle -- but I'm still a bit sore. Especially getting up/sitting down, there's still some sharp pains on my right side, which had a bigger tear. But I'm doing the pool exercises, pelvic tilts and stretching called for during days 7-10 and I think it's helping as I feel a lot better today than I did yesterday (first day of those exercises). Good luck!
Regarding the massage, they have changed their approach recently. The rehab protocol says start massaging the adductors the day after surgery. I checked with Marcia on that last week and she said that they now don't recommend that until one week post-op, and continuing it for 8-10 weeks (they haven't edited the handouts to reflect this yet).
During my follow-up visit on Tuesday (should mention I had the pleasure of meeting Tiff and her mom, both lovely people) I visited with a massage therapist they have in the office on Tuesdays, and she showed me the proper technique for the massage. The idea is that any scar tissue that forms in the adductors (or anywhere, according to her research) is immature for 8-10 weeks following the trauma and can be eliminated through massage during that period before it adheres to the tissue.
Meyers also told me that after a month he wants me to do similar massage on the RA itself. I'm scheduled for another follow up on 8/11 so I guess I'll learn more about that then.
A bit of news on my condition, my original injury occured 03/11/09 and after 3 doctors, MRI, and 2 sonograms all negative
Yet, i still had pain left side, could not excercise, general discomfort in left side on my groin. Many of the same symptons of the sports hernia. Pain also started to spread to the right hip flexors, etc.
This past monday I had laparoscopic exploration in my groin area, two small inguinal hernias were found on the left side, both were fixed with Surgisis mesh.
So MRI\'s and 2 sonograms could not find them
Today is Friday 4 days later and i am still a little sore from the surgery in general but that constant numb/discomfort feeling in my groin in gone.
Goes to show you how all these symptons feel alike and are very similiar. ie sports hernias, inguinal etc
I will keep you all updated on my condition.
Hockey Player....Dr Meyers told me himself to start massaging the day after surgery...Ill double check with the office....
hi JC sportsman;
I have not had a surgery yet for my injury, its been 2 years without any kinds of medical intervention, except for a hip injection , im seeing a famous hip surgeon in Canada who thinks i have femoroacetabular impingement; to test that theory he injected anesthesia into my hip joint and guess what happened? the pain was completely gone! so from that he concluded that i have hip fai, but i think the reason the pain was gone is that my adductor was able to relax with the sedatives, thats why the pain was gone ( i always feel like my adductor is spasming and is in a contracted state)
but anyhow, i think i ought to go to Meyer and have the MRI at least and get a consultation;
thanks JC
H
ljp,
Thanks for the post. I'm 59 yrs-old, main sport was pickup basketball. I came down with sports hernia in Feb. 2009 and stopped playing. My main symptoms are pain in left groin on movement, pain in adductors especially upon standing up from a sitting position, transitory pains in lower abdomen. Pain when getting out of car. Can't get out of bed normally.
But I'm suspecting it could perhaps be caused by small inguinal hernias. I'm trying to heal without surgery or any NSAIDS, and seem to be making some progress.
I'm wondering if you were required to take anti-inflammatories after surgery.
Thanks.
this is from a prior post and makes alot of sence to me
Direct = herniate into inguinal canal
Indirect = herniate through deep inguinal ring (following path of descending testes)
The sports hernia that is a weakness of the inguinal canal wall and the inguinal hernia can cause the same complaints. Both can compress on nerves when the ab muscles are tensed and both cause widening of the groin canal that puts tension on muscles in the pubic area. These now tight muscles are then susceptible to tears during activity or cause compensating actions by muscles that contribute to other problems.
I think Dr. M focuses primarily here as it is closest to her expertise - hernias. In fact her minimal repair is used for sports hernias and small inguinal hernias - there is no difference. Fixing either of these issues relieves the tension in the muscles of the pubic region that she says results in the complaint of pubalgia.
Dr. Meyers seems to deal with a broader spectrum of groin pain or at least consider other causes not related to ab wall defects. In a Meyers paper he says "The athletic pubalgia syndrome is not associated with abdominal wall defects that resemble hernias." Dr. M says "The problem is caused by a weakness or abnormality in the posterior inguinal canal wall...." These statements seem to conflict, but both of these doctors are fixing people. Interesting, but confusing.
Dr. M says fix my inguinal hernia and my problems are solved. Meyers suggested I may have both inguinal hernia and AP after he reviewed my MRI report.
Surf,
If you have an inguinal hernia you will not get better without surgery - it will only get worse over time. I have to repeat what others have suggested to you - get a diagnosis. Go see a hernia specialist and see if they can find a hernia. Don't bother with GP or general surgeon - none of them could detect mine. It took Dr. M two seconds and I didn't even have to turn my head and cough.
Makes sence in my case as it was hitting the same nerve. I agree with many other posters you need to make 100% sure of what you have. I was certain i had a sports hernia, but it was not the case.
I am not sure if other doctors would have been able to spot the hernias on MRIs or sonogram. Regardless, the only way to fix it is with surgery so i am glad i went through with it.
Trouble is, some inguinal hernias can hit the nerve thus putting your body out of commision like a sports hernia
you need to find out what you have once and for all plus you cannot fix a true hernia without surgery, goodluck
Your Right Hockey Player...per Marcia she said wait 1 week to begin massaging adductors...I swear Dr Meyers told me next day.....they really need to make things clearer and up to date on that sheet
ljp,
You will not spot the hernia in an MRI because you are lying down and relaxed. In this state the bowels are back in normal position and no tear is visible. My MRI specifically said "there are no discrete hernias noted" and "the inguinal regions appear unremarkable."
If you had a sonogram in the same way you would not see it either. Dr. M shows this with her sonogram procedure. When lying down and relaxed everything looks normal, but when you tense your muscles you can see the hole open up as the bowels push through.