Triumph Over Triple Hernias with One Surgery at Cleveland Clinic in Florida

The only regret John Holcomb has about his hernia repair surgery is that he waited so long to do it. 

About four years ago the now 70-year-old started to notice some bumps and an enlargement of his abdominal area. But because he didn’t feel any pain, he put off going to the doctor. When he finally did, the first doctor he went to suggested he have three separate surgeries to repair what turned out to be three separate hernias. (A hernia occurs when an organ pushes through a defect in the abdominal wall between the muscle and the fascia.)

John was relieved, though, when he went to Cleveland Clinic Florida for a second opinion and Eric Owings, MD, a general surgeon who specializes in hernia repair at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital, told him he could repair all three with just one procedure.

John (left) and Dr. Owings (right) discuss post-surgery details during a follow-up appointment. (Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic)

John’s three hernias were coalescing into one large one, making it difficult for him to walk and requiring that he wear clothes that were too big just to cover up his protruding middle section.

“John had exactly the kind of problem that we have a great skill set to be able to treat,” Dr. Owings says. The ability to successfully treat John’s hernias, Dr. Owings says, requires an understanding of the abdominal wall and lots of experience with these conditions.

Dr. Owings performs a hernia procedure at Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital. (Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic)

“At Cleveland Clinic Florida, we have built a multidisciplinary, multifaceted hernia program to take care of these complex conditions,” he says.

While Dr. Owings and his team planned the surgery, John was encouraged to lose weight.

For a complex hernia repair patients are encouraged to “prehabilitate” by losing weight and quitting smoking if needed so that they can be in the best shape possible to minimize risks for infection and a return of the hernia.

After his successful hernia repair, John can once again enjoy the outdoors pain-free. (Courtesy: Cleveland Clinic)

Cleveland Clinic Florida has a broad and diverse hernia surgery program, performing a large volume and wide breadth of cases, most of which are done with a minimally invasive or robotic approach. Because of the size of John’s hernia, the procedure was performed through a traditional open approach.

Afterward, John needed only over-the-counter pain medication and was able to walk normally — something that the hernia had made difficult before. Dr. Owings said most patients take about two months to fully recover and get back to all normal activities.

A few years later, John is back to riding his bike every day, sometimes up to six miles.

“I had the best doctors,” he says. “I can’t say enough about them. Dr. Owings is amazing.”