Tony’s complicated hernia surgery is done right, right here in Lincoln

Two years ago, Tony Bailey, 53, of Lincoln, was badly hurt in an accident while traveling out-of-state. He was left with serious, deep abdominal wounds requiring extensive surgery and many weeks of recovery. “Long story short,” he says, “I thought I was healing OK, but six weeks later a big painful lump came up along the scar where my surgery was done.”

Tony was seen by physician assistant Amy Agena, who explained that the lump was a hernia that was happening because some abdominal muscles repaired during his surgery had weakened and loosened.

“So, what I was actually seeing was part of my intestine pushing out between those loosened muscles and bunching up under my skin,” says Tony.

The physician assistant referred him to Clint Rathje, DO, of General Surgery Associates to get the hernia fixed.

“This was all really worrisome,” Tony says. His stress increased during that early period of the COVID pandemic, when medical appointments and procedures were delayed; in the time it took to schedule Tony’s surgery, his hernia ballooned to the size of a basketball.

Needs special procedure

Once Tony met with Dr. Rathje, his care moved quickly.

“Dr. Rathje used images from a CT scan to show me exactly where the problem was and how he planned to fix the hernia, and he answered all my questions so I felt comfortable going ahead,” Tony says.

“Tony’s situation was unusual,” Dr. Rathje explains, “both because of the very large size of the hernia and because muscle along his old surgical scar was quite weakened. He needed a large, strong, durable surgical repair, so I chose a complex and very strong hernia repair technique called transversus abdominis release, or TAR.”

Traditionally, surgeons repair hernias by sewing muscle tissue closed after the intestine is back in place, sometimes with a supportive, flexible surgical mesh placed over the repaired muscles to strengthen them.

“In the more complex TAR procedure, the surgeon separates the muscle layers to make a space to repair the muscle, then covers and supports the area with a piece of surgical mesh twice the size used in a typical hernia repair,” says Dr. Rathje. “This is a great technique that creates a much, much stronger repair for patients who have very large hernias, or whose previous hernia surgeries may have

Dr. Clint Rathje

Tony Bailey

failed. So, the TAR surgical repair is a great option for providing a long-lasting solution for patients with these difficult problems.”

Before surgery, Tony’s huge painful hernia lump interfered with all parts of his life.

“I woke up 20 times or more most nights because of pain, so my sleep was wrecked, and socializing and exercise were impossible, which was hard on me because I’m a very active person,” he says. “I also travel by plane a lot for work, and altitude changes during those flights caused me really

severe pain. Honestly, I was so exhausted, in pain and isolated that the quality of my life was at an absolute low.” Although Tony’s surgery was expected to take three hours, Dr. Rathje worked two more hours to remove internal and external scar tissue caused by Tony’s first surgery. “Bryan’s nurses were great about managing my pain right after surgery, and three days later I had no pain at all,” Tony notes. “So I didn’t need pain medicine after I left the hospital, which was terrific.” His final surgical scar was flat enough that soon after surgery he could wear his normal clothes again. Within a couple of weeks, he was sleeping better, and after the full eightweek recovery, he was entirely back to normal.

Improves quality of life

“This was a great success — my pain was gone, I finally could sleep and exercise, and soon I was back to my regular travel schedule and social life. Dr. Rathje explained everything clearly and did a great repair, and I’ve had a 100 percent return to the quality of my life.” And very importantly, Tony was able to get surgery for his complicated hernia right here in town, close to his home and friends. “That was a huge relief,” he says. “It just made everything easier.” Dr. Rathje is excited that this new procedure is available in Lincoln and notes that his new partner, Weston Keller, MD, also performs these surgeries. n

Tony before TAR ... and after TAR

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