The following article appeared in The News Herald on Sunday, June 6, 2004.

Local Surgeon Offers Free Hernia Seminar -
June Slated as National Hernia Awareness Month

Morganton - The National Center for Health Statistics reports that approximately 5 million Americans have hernias and only 750,000 seek treatment each year. While it is believed that hundreds of thousands choose to suffer in silence, primarily because they fear painful surgery, non-surgical treatment is only a temporary solution to hernias, which must be surgically repaired at some point - and should be repaired before complications have the chance to arise.

A hernia is a protrusion of an organ or tissue through an abnormal opening in the body. Most often hernias occur when a piece of intestine slips through a weakness in the abdominal wall, creating a bulge or lump that can be seen and felt. Hernias can develop around the naval, in the groin, or anywhere a surgical incision has been made. Some hernias are present at birth while others develop slowly over a period of months or years.

Traditionally, hernia repairs have fallen under two categories: open or laparoscopic. The open, more traditional, approach is done from the outside through an incision in the area of the hernia. The laparoscopic method requires the smaller incisions ranging in size from a half-inch to two-inches. One incision is used to accommodate the laparoscope (a miniature video camera) and the others accommodate a series of surgical instruments used to repair the defect from the inside. In both cases, surgical mesh is used to repair the defect or hole.

A new approach called advanced Kugel^TM Hernia Repair, causes less pain, with a faster recovery time than traditional hernia surgery. And because of its design, the Kugel^TM Hernia Patch not only fixes the current hernia, but also helps protect against future hernias in the same area.

Dr. William Cloud of Cloud Surgical Solutions offers the Kugel^TM Hernia Repair to patients who meet the criteria for this less invasive surgery. Dr. Cloud is board-certified and has significant experience in cancer and abdominal surgery, and particularly laparoscopic surgery. He has performed many hernia operations with much success, and he has trained surgeons from North and South Carolina in the Kugel® method for the past five years.

In observance of National Hernia Awareness Month, Dr. Cloud will be hosting a free Hernia Seminar open to the public on Thursday, June 10 at 5:30pm in his office located at 117 Foothills Drive, Morganton. Reservations are required. For more information or to reserve your seat, please contact Chasity Poteat-Lehn at (828) 437-0847 by Monday, June 9.