Česky
The young woman came to the so-called hernia about two years ago when she had a covid. "The hernia very likely appeared because of respiratory problems accompanied by a strong cough, during which you strain your abdominal muscles," the young woman explained.
As time passed, the worsening pain in particular forced her to finally address the problem. "I had one hernia between the oblique and abdominal muscles and the other was what is called diastasis. It manifested itself, for example, on a walk when a painful lump rolled out. After an examination, my district doctor recommended the surgical outpatient clinic at the hospital in Horovice, where the head of the day surgery, Mr. Zeithaml, attended to me directly on my first visit," Lenka continues.
The principle of day surgery is that the patient goes home the same day after the procedure, or in some cases sleeps overnight in the ward. However, the programme is only for people who should not suffer from several health problems at the same time.
"Whether or not a patient meets the criteria is determined by the surgeon himself, who assesses the surgical findings as well as the so-called health risk. For example, if he only has high blood pressure, he may undergo a simpler procedure as part of the same-day surgery. But if he has asthma, diabetes or another health problem, it is better to perform the operation as standard," explained the head of day surgery, Petr Zeithaml, MD.
Whether patients are suitable candidates for same-day surgery can be determined through an examination in the network of referral clinics. These are located in the Hořovice Hospital, as well as in the AKESO POLICLINICE in Prague and in Radnice in the Pilsen region. "It is possible to make an appointment directly without having to visit your district doctor, and of course it is also possible with a medical recommendation," said the Chief Medical Officer.
Lenka Pietrulová fulfilled the conditions for one-day surgery. She knew in advance that she would go home the next day at the latest after the procedure, which is performed using the laparoscopic method. However, because of an unpleasant experience from the past, when she had undergone a standard umbilical hernia operation ten years ago in another health care facility, she was reasonably afraid before the operation in Beroun.
"The procedure went well then, but I had a very bad time with the anaesthesia. However, after I was admitted here in Beroun, a nurse took me in immediately and led me to the chief surgeon. I outlined my concerns to him in the surgical outpatient clinic, where we met for the first time. The doctor explained to me again that the methods had advanced over time. He again explained the course of the operation and how I would be taken care of, which was quite reassuring," she confided. She said it was similar in the operating theatre. "The anaesthetist and the nurses talked to me until I was put to sleep, which was nice," she says with a smile.
Lenka's prognosis was that she could be discharged the same day after the operation. However, she ended up spending the night in the ward, because during the procedure MUDr. Petr Zeithaml found another hernia in her groin area. "During the laparoscopic part of the operation, when the entire abdominal cavity is revised, I found a hernia gate in the right lower abdomen, in addition to a hernia gate in the groin - the site for the so-called indirect inguinal hernia. The two gates were quite close together, so a laparoscopic plastic surgery could be performed, where these abdominal wall defects were covered with a single mesh," the doctor described.
As Lenka Pietrulová mentioned afterwards, she felt relatively well after the operation. "It'sprobably normal to be a bit sore - I would compare it to overdoing it with abdominal exercises. But mostly I didn't feel sick, which was my biggest fear," she noted.
She was discharged from the Day Care Center the next morning. She was very excited to go home and her husband came to pick her up. "Of course home is home. But with the care I received here, it was like a home environment. The nurses and doctors were incredibly kind. My hat is off, my praise and thank you all so much," she said, adding that she could return to work in about a month.
