An Enlightened Approach to Hernia Surgery with Dr. Reinhorn and Dr. Fullington

I had a great experience with my inguinal hernia surgery this summer, so I just had to invite my doctor, Nora Fullington and her  partner, Dr. Michael Reinhorn from Boston Hernia onto the podcast!  A few takeaways:

1. The vast majority of hernia repairs are performed by general surgeons in hospital operating rooms. But better outcomes, lower cost, and greater convenience are possible if you can find a specialized practice like I did and go to an ambulatory surgery center. (Only 3% of inguinal hernias in Massachusetts are repaired in ASCs, which is nuts.)
2. Despite the superiority of the Boston Hernia model, insurance companies and big health systems make it hard for patients to go this route.
3. You shouldn't be scared of mesh as long as your surgeon knows what they're doing
4. Patients are often mis-diagnosed with hernias as a result of medical imaging. A physical exam is the way to go
5. Drs. Reinhorn and Fullington believe their model can be applied more broadly within surgery and beyond

Enjoy the show.

As of March 2025 HealthBiz is part of CareTalk. Healthcare. Unfiltered and can be found at the following links:

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• Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/caretalk-healthcare-unfiltered/id1532402352
• YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@CareTalkPodcast
• CareTalk website https://www.caretalkpodcast.com/

Host David E. Williams is president of healthcare strategy consulting firm Health Business Group.

Episodes through March 2025 were produced by Dafna Williams.