Dismissive And Blatantly Ignorant...
2 days ago I travelled across the country with the hope that I would finally be cured of my inguinal hernia pain. I am a woman and, as is the case for many women, I have a small, hard to detect, yet extremely painful hernia. Because I don't have a huge bulge the surgeons I saw said I don't have a hernia. They discounted the ultrasound I have, saying the hernia that was detected was too small to actually be a hernia. They told me I experience too much pain to have a hernia. They said hernias don't hurt. They kept saying "the pain doesn't matter. The bulge matters!". They were flippant, arrogant, and uncaring. They sent me home. I have been in pain as a result of my hernia for a year and they tried to explain it by saying I must have pulled a muscle. I put so much faith in this establishment that boasts they are the best in hernia repair. I'm sorry ladies but if you need help with your hernia Shouldice is not the place to go. They should call it a man's hernia hospital.
I met another woman while I was there who had 3 diagnosed hernias but because only one hernia had a bulge they refused to treat them all. She will return to her home province with 2 untreated hernias. She even had test results and letters from doctors explaining her situation. The surgeons at Shouldice refused to acknowledge them.
Shouldice doctors need to get with the times and acknowledge that women's hernias often present differently than men's, that they can be debilitatingly painful, and they can be small (which is often more painful). Also, a caring and respectful demeanor goes a long way. Shouldice surgeons could use a lesson or two in that. I am so disappointed, and still in pain.
2 days ago I travelled across the country with the hope that I would finally be cured of my inguinal hernia pain. I am a woman and, as is the case for many women, I have a small, hard to detect, yet extremely painful hernia. Because I don't have a huge bulge the surgeons I saw said I don't have a hernia. They discounted the ultrasound I have, saying the hernia that was detected was too small to actually be a hernia. They told me I experience too much pain to have a hernia. They said hernias don't hurt. They kept saying "the pain doesn't matter. The bulge matters!". They were flippant, arrogant, and uncaring. They sent me home. I have been in pain as a result of my hernia for a year and they tried to explain it by saying I must have pulled a muscle. I put so much faith in this establishment that boasts they are the best in hernia repair. I'm sorry ladies but if you need help with your hernia Shouldice is not the place to go. They should call it a man's...