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Testimonials

‘Kang Repair’ Meshless(No Mesh) Hernia Repair, with primary direct closure

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Hernia

My Story of A No Mesh Hernia Repair
- Jack Wilkerson / 62 / M / Umatilla, Florida, USA -

I selected Dr. Kang for hernia surgery because he is an expert with over 10,000 procedures doing mesh free hernia repair. I feel successful surgery requires the best surgeon with the most experience. I researched dozens of surgeons from North America to Asia.

Dr. Kang had the most experienced and developed procedure that has a low rate failure. My friends local surgeons do mesh surgery with a failure rate of 50%. I like Dr. Kang’s procedure of doing surgery with a local anesthetic to maintain voice contact with patient.

He asked me to cough so he could confirm the exact extent of the hernia. He immediately had me walk away from the operating room to my room. That procedure prevents out blood clots by preventing stagnant blood flow. It does take some expense to travel to South Korea from Florida, however the cost of surgery and travel is much less than my insurance deductible cost for inferior surgery in the USA.

Most USA surgeons do all types of surgery so the number of hernia procedures is limited. They have limited experience. Dr. Kang has far more experience. I am glad I made the decision to come to GIBBEUM HOSPITAL for treatment.I encourage others to consider the best surgeon.

Jack

Jack, 62 years old
Left Inguinal Hernia repaired by Dr. Kang without mesh on June 14, 2017

1. His self statement by email on July 3, 2017 (19th day after surgery)

As far as I can tell the hernia repair is OK. The small knot under the skin where Dr Kang did the repair is shrinking day by day. No pain.
Slight soreness a few minutes per day but most of the time I notice nothing. I mowed our lawn using a riding lawn mower last weekend.
I ran the mower slowly to avoid any strain. It rained every day when we were in Korea so the grass was a foot high. I am still avoiding bicycling.
The friend from Pennsylvania who encouraged me to look for a No Mesh surgeon was visiting our meeting today.
He has been through mesh hernia repair 5 times. It keeps failing.
When I talk to others about my experience in Korea, some reveal they have faulty hernia repairs with mesh they live with.
Today there was an advertisement on TV from attorneys suing surgeons with new graphic drawings showing what happens with faulty hernia repairs.
Jack

2. Report on July 8, 2017 (24th day after surgery)

I went for a bicycle ride to the post office today. Easy flat roads. No strain. No problem. 3 miles.
Jack

3. Report on July 10, 2017 (26th day after surgery)

Thank you. I bicycled 2 miles today and mowed a large lawn. No strain at all.
Jack


Trier's story after a month of hernia surgery - Trevor -
On Sept 29, I had a small-medium sized inguinal surgery repaired using the no-mesh technique. The surgery was performed by Dr. Kang in Seoul, Korea at GIBBEUM Hospital. I had gone for a pre-checkup a few weeks prior and the tests included an ultrasound and blood tests and consultation with the doctor. Total time was about 1.5 hours. Service was very professional and efficient. On the day of the surgery, I arrived several hours before hand for a few more tests. I went after work on a Friday, and my surgery was one of the last for the day. After being given some medication to help relax I entered the operating room. I was prepped for surgery and was given local anaesthetic. I was a bit nervous as I had never had surgery this way, but I felt zero pain during the procedure. Total procedure time took 15 mins and I was able to walk to the recovery room on my own. I stayed in the recovery room for 2.5 hours and took a taxi home. You can leave by yourself if you want, but I had my girlfriend help me. I timed my surgery before a week off for the Chuseok holiday so I didn't have to go back to work for 10 days. Day1: went home and straight to bed. Day2: I was very sore for Day 2, but still able to move around the house and eat normally. Usually just had difficulties getting up from a laying down position. Day 3: I went outside and walked my dog about 100 m and also later went out to grab a pizza. Still sore. Changed my bandage and saw the incision for the first time - about 4 cm long, and just glued shut no stitches. Day 11: back to work (teacher), felt a bit sore but made it through without pain. Day 20: started to feel normal for day to day activies, but still no exercise. Day 30: went for a light jog, felt stiff and scar tissue was sore but no pain. Now I'm at 6 weeks post surgery and I'm back to normal schedule of activities but still taking it easy in terms of overall intensity. This week I swam 2 times, rode my bike twice (10km), ran 5 km, and yoga/stretching throughout the week. I have no pain except minor soreness when I rub the scar tissue. This is not enough to even classify as irritation. Overall I couldn't recommend this type of surgery enough. Total price was about 550,000 ￦ (500 USD as a worker accepted by Korean Gov't, this person was on Korean National Insurance, otherwise it would cost 3,000 USD at least) and Dr. Kang's team was very professional. English guidance was provided as well, by a man named Stephen. Let me know if you have any questions.

I highly recommend 기쁨병원.
- Andrew -

First a little bit about myself, my hernia and my hospital experience. i am a 28 year old Amirican who receive non-mesh surgery using local anaesthetic for an inguinal hernia.
Although i decided to come to this hospital for it's speedy dischange rate(it is possible to be diagnosed, have surgery, and go home all the same day!)
I was constantly impressed with the staff's kindness and professionalism.
The nurse always went out of their way to make sure I was comfortable, knowing this may be tough as a foreigner, and the doctor explained every step of the surgery in perfect English.

I highly recommend 기쁨병원.

My story of a bilateral hernia
- Joe Petrucelli / 63 / Seattle, WA -

I don’t know exactly when or how it came about but the increasing pain in my lower right side led to the diagnosis of a bilateral inguinal hernia. Hearing stories from my friends and the internet I was convinced not to use mesh in my hernia repair. My search led me to the GIBBEUM hospital and Dr. Kang in seoul, Korea.
Dr. Yoon-sik Kang has performed over 7,000 mesh free, no tension hernia repairs using his own technique. I do not speak Korean yet every step of the process from calling the hospital with initial questions to the arrival at the GIBBEUM hospital were made easy do the wonderful staff there.
The surgery started with a local anesthesia and within 45 minutes both sides were complete. I walked back to my room on my own and rested till the next morning. I spent the next 3 days walking around the beautiful city of Seoul before my return flight back to Seattle.
I am pleased with the skill of Dr. Kang and his friendly, professional staff and my quick recovery. I highly recommend Dr. Kang for mesh free hernia repair.

I highly recommend 기쁨병원.
- Andrew -

I think it was one of the best choices…
- Lee -

My experience,

I had my hernia successfully repaired by Dr. Kang on the 26th of October, 2016.
This is a detailed account of my experience.
My name is ** Lee and I teach Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
I was originally diagnosed with a right side inguinal hernia in September of 2016.
I felt a bulge one evening in the shower and this was confirmed to be an inguinal hernia at a local hospital the following week.
I started reading about hernia surgery on the web and soon realized that while the required surgery is considered a relatively simple operation, there were many subtle aspects to consider.
I also started looking at the professional medical literature at the University and decided that a few key points would be important.

First, if possible, I did not want to put a mesh inside me.
Not only because of the potential for near term complications, but I was only 42 and not convinced that a plastic mesh would last 40+ years inside my body.

I wanted to have it done by a surgeon with ample experience specifically at fixing hernias.

Of course, I also wanted to recover quickly but that was not necessarily the top objective.
I would rather get it done properly.

In early October, I was referred to a general surgeon near the University who suggested surgery with robotic probes.
He told me that an extra large mesh would be used to prevent any recurrences and the entire surgery would take about 2 to 2.5 hours.
Although the surgeon was very nice and took his time to explain the procedure, I did not want to go under for that long and the extra large mesh was also of concern.
I really started to do my research and also asked a couple of friends in Korea who recommended GIBBEUM hospital.
When I looked into it, I realized that the new technique used by Dr. Kang suited all my expectations.
I was also relieved that Dr. Kang operated on a very large number of patients over the years and I could not find any negative post-surgery reviews (believe me, I tried).
I flew into Seoul on the evening of a Wednesday (October 25th) and went straight to GIBBEUM hospital Thursday morning.
I had spoken to the nurse at the hospital quite extensively prior to the visit and did not have a lot of questions for Dr. Kang.
When I mentioned the robotic probe to Dr. Kang, I think he just smiled.
After meeting with Dr. Kang, the morning was spent on running a number of tests including an ultrasound (which confirmed an indirect right side inguinal hernia), blood tests, and a urine test.
I was also given antibiotics in preparation for the surgery.
I ate a light lunch and then was called into the operating room at around 12:30pm.

I lay flat with a curtain separating me from my lower torso. Dr. Kang came into the operating room, asked how I was doing and went right to work.
Local anesthetic shots were given near the groin area (slight pain from the needle here) but then the entire process was entirely painless.
I was fully conscious the entire time and I could hear the surgical equipment clattering away and felt slight tugging and pulling every now and then.
Within about 20 minutes Dr. Kang casually said ‘all done’.
I remember thinking that it must have gone well because the sound of the equipment was constant whereas I figured that if something did go wrong, Dr. Kang would have hesitated and stopped to assess the situation.
After the surgery, I got off the table and walked back to my hospital bed on my own power with absolutely no pain.
The first hour I was told to lie in bed.
For the next three hours I had absolutely no pain as the anesthetics was still working. Read a little and dozed a little due to jet lag.
After about 3 hours I started feeling a little pain as the anesthetics starting wearing off.
The discomfort was local and the nurse had told me painkillers would be available but I was able to do without it.
It did hurt quite a bit when I coughed. Near the end of the day, Dr. Kang came by and looked me over and told me I could go home if I felt up to it.
I was given a shot of painkiller before leaving, after which I was able to walk out and take a cab home on my own with very minimal discomfort.

I was able to eat normally right after surgery.
The next morning, there was a dull pain in the surgery area and I took two painkiller pills throughout the day (hospital provided me with 3 pills a day for four days).
I was able to walk around in the house with very little discomfort.
If I really had to, I would probably have been able to go to work but I rested at home the entire day.
The hospital provided me with stool softener to ease the trips to the bathroom.
Two days after the surgery, I took two pills throughout the day but I felt a lot better and I could really move around.
I took my first shower and took off the bandage (I was given two additional bandages and told to change every two days).
There was a small incision (34 mm to be exact) which was enclosed in some type of clear adhesive. It was clean with no trace of blood.
Three days after surgery, I felt dramatically better.
I took only one pill on this day and felt so good that I took public transportation to downtown Seoul and spent time with a friend until 11pm before taking a cab back home.
I was under no pain the entire time unless I started walking too fast or coughing.
I had actually planned on recovering in Korea for two weeks but was so much better after three days that I changed my flight and left Korea after one week.
From day three, I spent most of the time meeting people and traveling around Seoul.
I really felt no need to stay at home.
I left Korea pain free with my hernia fixed and knowing that there is no mesh inside my body. I think it was one of the best choices I ever made and I am grateful to Dr. Kang and the kind staff at GIBBEUM hospital

Hernia : From USA to come to GIBBEUM Hospital!
- Kim, Kioak -

In advance I give my thanks to GIBBEUM Hospital because I was saved.
The symptom started about five years ago when I was in the army. I felt heavy around my abdomen and sometimes I had pain when I woke up. At times of my leaves I went to a urologist and had ultra-sonics. The result was normal and the doctor said it might be from my stress.
The pain was not so consistent, so only the word ‘stress’ hanged around my ears all the time. I continued to go to fitness and I didn’t have any big difficulties. So with confidence I decided to go abroad to USA for study. Abdomenal pain was gone away from conscience. A serious incident happened in New York on Jan., 27, 2010. When I woke up I found out a big swell somewhere around my left testicle. I went to a physician in a hospital nearby. ‘Hernia’ was the diagnosis, but I felt something in their facility insufficient. “Are they able to operate my hernia?” I had a kind of suspicion about their ability. They didn’t answer my questions satisfactorily. Without hospitalization but the cost would be $3,000, they told me. It wasn’t really acceptable so I decided to endure five months, coming back to Korea. In the meantime I checked internet and found out GIBBEUM Hospital as hernia-specialized. I left some notes on the hospital web consultation. Actually it was five days before the new semester began. On one hand, “I shouldn’t go,” but the other hand, “I should go to Korea so that I should be saved.” For sometime I thought a lot but decided to purchase a ticket to Seoul, Korea on Monday, two days after the diagnosis.

Sunday the pain was severe. I almost called 911 there, but endured one more day and slept. Fortunately the pain was much lessoned on Monday when I got on the plane. The day arrival I went to GIBBEUM Hospital and went through the tests, getting a room to stay. Without hesitation I determined to get the surgery from Dr. Kang, the head doctor and CEO of the hospital.

Local anesthesia made me feel the surgery much easier than I expected. My hernia was not so simple actually because my abdomen was filled with something around the intestine. I talked with Dr. Kang while the surgery was being done. Dr. King became a great expert in the area and a master in hernia operation. He had an easy and composed attitude while he was operating. After surgery he showed me the things which made me suffer. Most hernia surgeries can be done without taking out things that I had.

Total time of the operation was 40 minutes. I walked to my hospital room after the surgery. I didn’t feel so uncomfortable because I didn’t feel much pain as still the part of my body was in anesthesia. Even two hours later I didn’t feel much pain so as to take painkilling injection. Five days after surgery, all the stitches were removed and I was told not to come to the hospital again. The sense of freedom and joy was beyond expression. I am much happier that I have no problem to go back to USA.

I really thank Dr. Kang and if someone in USA has hernia problem, I will send him to GIBBEUM Hospital. I wish all in the hospital be happy and prosperous.

Anal Fistula : Farewell to twenty years of my fistula ~ (Kim, Cheolbum)

Twenty years has passed before I know while I postponed the surgery for fear of surgery and some other reasons though I had fistula for the same period of time. In the meantime I had discomfort but endured it. Since some time ago I had constipation with a few days of suffering and then I had anal fissure with great pain when I made a vowel movement. If I had let it go as it was, it would have been much worse. So I made an appointment at GIBBEUM Hospital which I have known from internet and have in mind in case. I decided to go through conscious sedation gastric and colorectal endoscopies, once I came to the hospital. At the day of appointment I received basic tests.

On Friday I went through two endoscopies. I felt fear before I lay down on endoscopic bed, but when I woke up after I heard that injection for sedation would be around, everything was over. Dr.’s opinion was that there was some inflammation on my stomach and a polyp on my colon but it was cut out. I felt relieved as it was not so bad. I was a given a booklet with the results including my endoscopic pictures.

Saturday morning I entered the hospital and a little after 1 pm went into a surgery room. I was waiting on the bed, Dr. Kang gave me caudal (spinal) anesthesia. The needle injection was not so painful, but I felt heavy in there. It was much better than I expected.

Finally I went into a surgery bed. When it started, I felt nothing, different from my anticipation.

When I came back to my room, I watched TV and ate porridge for dinner. But when I felt urinating so much, I couldn’t do it. And I felt a lot of gas in my intestine and felt like vowel movement, so I asked a nurse about it. She said I felt the pain in my anus as such and was given a painkiller injection. And then the feeling to poop disappeared. About 10 pm, I began to urinate and my suffering began to go away. After one night the gauze was taken from my anus and I began to break wind a lot.

After I learned a sitz(hip) bath I was discharged. That evening for the first time I relieved myself, a little earlier than normal time – I heard other people do it on the third day, but I felt amazingly no pain. The most worrisome problem of my life has been resolved. After vowel movement, I took a hip bath and began to live a normal life. I avoid salty and spicy food and try to eat fibroid food.

I really give my deep thanks to Dr.Kang who was so generous, the nurses who were very kind, and the administration staff. I strongly encourage those who hesitate and fear to receive the surgery as soon as possible. GIBBEUM Hospital! I am really thankful and I love the hospital. I pray that the hospital be prosperous day by day ever.

Colonoscopy : Colonoscopy experience of my wife and myself (Lee, Hansung)

I am thirty and my husband thirty four and we are a newly wed couple. To make sure our health we decided to examine our colon. As one of my family members came to this hospital for lipoma (fatty tumor) surgery before, I knew the hospital already as it was specialized for colorectal treatment. I had no hesitation to come to the hospital with previous appointment.

I talked to the nurse what symptom we had and we were given certain medicine with careful and kind explanation by the nurse. Though we went to the restroom so often to empty our colon, we waited for the test eagerly.

With hand in hand my husband I waited. We took the scopy in sedation. As soon as we took sleeping drug injection, we fell in there. When we woke up everything was over.
As we are young we didn’t worry anything but the result was each of us had a polyp of less than 1 cm and it was removed at the spot. We know that though young, there is nothing so safe. I think we did it right and every third year we will do it again. I appreciate all things done carefully and precisely in those heavy schedule of the hospital treatments.

Gastroscopy : Gastroscopy experience (Julia)

I am an elementary school teacher.
I suffered gastro-enterological problems periodically because I prepared for the teacher-qualifying test for a long time and received certain stress as a teacher all the time. I had digestion problem as I ate porridge for six months, losing 7kgs and taking gastroscopy twice a year when young.

Usually after endoscopy I receive dr’s prescription, so taking medicine for sometime but the same problem comes back again later. I do the same thing repeatedly. April 8, 2010, I came to GIBBEUM Hospital and took the gastroscopy test. I just expected nothing new but what was new is that the pictures of my gastroscopy were given to me as a gift. I went to some other specialized hospitals for gastroscopy but I have not got such pictures as a file. Only when I demanded it, I could get, so I had go there again to compare the new with the old. It gives me great sense of safety and security and I can go any other medical institute with the file given.

Of course my condition got much better.
Gastric problem is influenced by our stress and either hospital or medicine would never cure it perfectly. But if you have a hospital that treats you not with the mind of economic profit but with clear conscience for care, It will be a great comfort for in itself.
Actually it is not easy to come to the hospital as my working place is a bit far away but in the case of gastroscopy again, I will definitely come to the hospital with the file previously given. Drs. And nurses were so kind and I give my thanks to them.

Varicose Veins : Varicose veins disappeared (Ji Bongrae)

Whenever I heard the ‘hospital,’ my heart beat and my blood pressure always went up high. But now in a month after the surgery I go to the hospital to get the result. I didn’t have in mind that I would go through the surgery but when my husband had hernia operation in there, I went through the varicose veins operation inadvertently. I talk to myself I did it right.

In the country we usually give up such a surgery because when we come up to Seoul it would be very expensive and we might waste a lot of time. We got a lot of help from GIBBEUM Hospital online reservation.

We could do it with telephone call for medical consultation and as we came from the country, we were cared for so that we had preparing treatment in the morning and had surgery in the afternoon. It is excellent that we saved a lot of time and were not so busy.

GIBBEUM Hospital is not like general hospital, and it is quiet and the interior is not like hospital. The nurses were kind and we felt them like our family.

My husband was operated by Dr. Kang Yoonsik the head doctor of the hospital, and I was by Dr. Lee Youngcheol, the second head doctor. We felt safe from their kind and warm appearance and they gave us a very kind and easy explanation when we had ultrasonic test. When they did surgery they explained well the procedure of the surgery, asking us to say any discomfort we might have. I usually have feared doctors as they were stern but this time I never sensed any fear. It may be the first time that my blood pressure didn’t go up but went through a surgery.

I really want to thank Drs. Kang and Lee, and all the nurses.
While I am looking at my legs where there is no varicose veins. I think that I couldn’t feel happy without their care and treatment.

Much more than that, we are really happy because we got hospital cost discount for our residence is in the countryside. We don’t know how to return this grace. We are very blessed that we find out GIBBEUM Hospital.

We strongly recommend anyone who is living in the country to come to this hospital for surgery. I want them to know the treatment between the hospital in the country and that in Seoul is different. We pray that the hospital will enjoy prosperity in the future.
With our great gratitude,

Hemorrhoids : 9 years ago in Canada I got hemorrhoid surgery, but it came back recently. (Lee, Mirim)

Exactly 9 years after I got the surgery in Canada, I’ve got it again in GIBBEUM Hospital. Before I came to the hospital, I checked, here and there, through the grapevine, and internet. I found the hospital most reliable. Now I think my decision was right.
Today is the 7th day since I got hemorrhoidectomy in the hospital.
My hemorrhoid was serious and painful, so I thought I got to get a surgery. Dr. Ha, Kwangil gave initial treatment and then the surgery.
I was nervous and strained at the day of surgery, but at the time, due to his kind remarks and careful operation, I began to sense relief and thanks.

A local anesthesia was given to me, so I was able to know what was going on in the surgery. Though, due to vowel cleansing pill I took before the surgery, some watery stool occasionally came out regardless of my own will, Dr. Ha never felt uneasy or fretted but he was more careful and scrupulous, moving his hands continuously. I was very impressed by him and felt grateful to him. He did a lot of job with great effort to prevent complications. It is not yet to say the result because only a week has passed, but I can say that there is a wonderful doctor like Dr. Ha in GIBBEUM Hospital. I strongly recommend him for your hemorrhoid surgery.