You know how they say you should “get a second opinion” when it comes to doctors or your health in general? It’s true and it’s also true that you should always check to make sure your doctor doesn’t have his or her head up their ass, and make sure they tell you what they did after they did it, especially if they said they were going to do something else!

Case in point: I developed a hernia in my right lower abdomen in the spring of 2009, and my family medical doctor (who is now my former doctor-read on to find out why) referred me to a certain general surgeon in Tacoma. This surgeon was described to me as “really good.” Maybe that wasn’t enough.

The Surgeon (who I will not name here-read on to find out why) told me prior to the surgery that he was going to insert a small mesh patch over the herniated area and sew me up and I would be “good to go” for many years down the road. The surgery was scheduled for August 7th, the year of our Lord, 2009. Sorry, I had to be a smart ass for just a moment. Now, this is the point in the story where you need to remove the children and faint of heart from the room.

The Surgeon came to talk to me in my hospital room after the surgery. He told me that after he had opened me up, the plan suddenly changed and he had to use a medium patch instead of a small one. I was on major pain killers at time, was in a lot of pain and really didn’t give a rat’s ass what he had to say. But I’m glad now that my wife was in the room at time. She’s now a witness.

I complained to the Surgeon for two months after my surgery that I did not feel like I was getting any better, and in fact sometimes I was feeling worse. I told him I could actually feel the patch inside me and he told me I was imagining things, and there was no way I could be feeling anything like that. That is exactly what he said. He then told me if I had any more problems I should go see my family doctor as he (the Surgeon) was not going to deal with me anymore, since I didn’t have a problem and it was all in my head.

From late 2009 until November of this year, I have made dozens and dozens to visits to my (former) family doctor’s office, complaining of pain. We’re not talking about just garden variety pain here. I mean PAIN. I mean as in screwing up your life pain. We’re talking about pain that has been so bad over time, that I lost my job in July of this year from too many absences from work. Before you rush to judgment, let me explain what kind of person I am and what I’m not. I’m not a “woosie.” This has not been “oh I just don’t want to go to work so I’ll pretend I’m in pain crap.” People who know me know about the extremely active life I have lived since I was a kid. I’ve been more physically active in my 40’s than many young men in their 20’s. I’ve jumped off high things and done things at high speed. Physically grueling activities. I’ve “played through the pain.” So you see, when I say I have been in pain, I mean it.

My (former) family doctor during this entire time has diagnosed me as having Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a urinary infection (without doing a single test!), bad diet and eating habits, stress (geez go figure), and I have even had such answers like “I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

Last month I decided I was tired of taking prescription pain killers for an entire year and took some action on my own. I went to the hospital and got a copy of my operative report from my surgery. It was a bit hard to understand but I found the brand name of the patch implanted in me. Specifically, it’s a Bard brand Kugel patch. The Kugel patch is a piece of synthetic mesh with a nylon ring sort of built into the outer diameter to help hold the patch in place after surgery. Want to have some fun? Do a Google search on those patches and see what you find. It’s not pretty. I found that the specific patch that the Surgeon used has been deemed un-wise to use in surgery by the U.S. FDA and a Federal Judge because of product defects. There are tons of law suits pending regarding this product. I did more research and have recently found out the Bard Kugel patch that is inside me right now is coming apart. No, that’s not a typo. The patch is now in more than one piece. It’s doing damage to the tissue inside me, is damaging my colon and maybe much of my digestive tract, and causing problems with certain private parts that I would rather not name here.

Needless to say, I have dumped my former family doctor (now you know why!) and have a new family doctor who I have found to be very, very intelligent and well read. A very knowledgeable guy. When I consulted with him for the first time about two weeks ago, I didn’t even get half way through my horror story when he stopped me short. He said “I think something went wrong with the surgery.” Wow! Enlightenment! I’m consulting with a NEW surgeon this week to see what we can do to fix me. Oh, and lest I forget, I’m currently consulting with a couple of attorney’s too. The manufacturer of the patch, in my opinion, manufactured a piece of shit and the Surgeon used a patch to repair my hernia that he should not have even considered using! This is why I am not naming names, for legal reasons I think it’s wise not to with legal action pending.

If you must have surgery done on yourself, your family members, your neighbor, etc., don’t just blindly trust the people with the knives. It’s no coincidence that you see so many television commercials about suing “Such and Such Company” because of medical negligence. The companies that make things that repair us and the medicines we swallow are of no higher quality than Wal-Mart. This is not meant to be a slam against Wal-Mart, I shop there. Hey, if you want low prices, geez! A no brainer, right? But Wal-Mart is also known for crappy quality and products that come apart. Unfortunately, the same has become true of the companies that we hire and trust to hold our bodies together too. Don’t forget: “Medical patiens caveo.” That’s Latin for “Medical Patients Beware.”

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