Eps 24. Dr. Shirin Towfigh - Mesh Implant Illness and Alternative Treatment Options

Dr. Shirin Towfigh is a general surgeon with specialty in hernia surgery. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery and the European Board of Surgery. She has been treating patients with hernia related issues for over 20 years, with special interest in treating women’s hernias, occult inguinal hernias, and chronic pain related to prior hernia operations. She is founder and President of the Beverly Hills Hernia Center, in California, where she treats most of her patients. She is internationally recognized for her innovations in hernia surgery and has held multiple leadership positions in national and international surgical societies. She is widely published with over 200 articles, chapters, and a book named the SAGES Manual of Groin Pain. She hosts the weekly podcast, HerniaTalk LIVE, where she and her invited Guests answer your hernia related questions. You can find her and follow her on social mediaunder the moniker @herniadoc.Show Notes3:08 - Why specialized in hernia surgery05:35 - ASIA syndrome and diseases/disorders not discussed in medical school. 06:29 - Not every patient will respond the same to the same implant. 08:21 - Still in learning stages; a lot of knowledge about hernia surgery, but still learning about mesh implant.09:14 - Focusing on your risk of having an inflammatory or autoimmune response to things.10:30 -Alternatives to treating the patient, without mesh, without an implant11:23 - To accept a higher risk of recurrence12:15 - How to prevent adhesions, 2 different anti-adhesive13:03 – Amount of material that can spark a reaction someone who may react to mesh. Which is a lot of suture that's weaved into a mesh.15:32 Theory of biofilms developing on implant that impacts healing process.18:03 – Eliminating risks of contamination19:40 – When absorbable mesh might be used21:16 - Inflammation should die down after weeks to months23:11 - Petroleum-based absorbable mesh, highly inflammatory 25:18 – another concept floating around about, the impacts of general anesthesia substantial chronic conditions over time30:05 – case study of one patient with significant mesh implant illness with collagen deficiency disorder31:00 – methods to minimize risk of developing a hernia and choosing a surgeon that understands physics of repairs31:33 - If you tend to err on constipation. Treat that like you would diabetes every day 32:12 – Shouldice method works very well due to 4 layers. Each layer takes tension off the next layer.34:38 – different types of repairs for different types of hernias38:41 - Incisional hernias and diastases recti and candidacy for tummy talk.40:58 – Absorbable mesh and nanoparticles now in the body that can also develop biofilm around 41:06 - The sentiment that it's more prominent in English speaking Countries42:00 - Toxic bucket overload46:45 - we run a lot of functional labs and there's more markers like got dysbiosis and pathogenic overgrowth that that can be associated with it.47:05 – implant illness survey pinned to the top of bio in Instagram @herniadoc51:54 - licensed to practice in California. So if you're in California, then you have the option of coming in to see me.53:40 – Development of the Hernia Score, an algorithm to determine if pain is hernia-related.54:24 - Weekly hernia talk live. Contact InfoWebsite: https://beverlyhillsherniacenter.com/Hernia Talk Live: https://www.instagram.com/herniadoc/Link to Mesh Implant Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7N3FR35Follow us on IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@functionallyenlightened⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to be notified when new interviews with amazing functional practitioners and chronic illness warriors are published Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.functionallyenlightened.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for information on how we can help you DETOX YOUR LIFE or to subscribe to our newsletter.