I'm glad I found this board because I'm totally freaking out right
now.  I had a ventral hernia repaired in August and now it's come
back.  No mesh was used.  I just saw the original surgeon today.  He
says it's twice as big now and started to give me all sorts of scare
stories like now it's a re-do and the risks of recurrence are twice as
big and the tear is twice as big (13x14") and I have a 5% chance of
having a heart attack in the OR.  I'm only 32 but I am overweight.
Obviously that's a concern for me for more than just the hernia but
he's making it sound like having this redone is DANGEROUS and that
even if he uses a mesh the chances of success are small and doesn't
want to do this until I lose 50 pounds (ok maybe that's
exaggerating).  It sounds like I'm screwed no matter what I do.  I'd
like to know if the size of the new hernia is inherently dangerous in
and of itself (i.e. risk of strangulation aside).  He also said that a
mesh doesn't really help because if the sutures didn't hold around the
repair they won't hold around the mesh either and the mesh could make
things worse!  Is this true???  If I do it without the mesh it won't
hold either and he makes surgery sound like it's dangerous.  It sounds
like I don't have any good options.  We discussed the idea of
laproscopy but he said he doesn't do that anyway.  Does laproscopy
help anything?

Fortunately I'm not in great pain right now and the hernia seems to be
"behaving" itself.  There's no nausea or vomiting, just an occasional
cramping.  But I'm kind of freaked out now because he made it sound
like I'm screwed if I don't do it soon and that I'll die if I do it
soon.