Surgical Procedures

The operation involves repair of the Sports Hernia by a tension free tissue repair, re-attaching the conjoint tendon to the pubic bone crest and release of the Adductor longus tendon. Occasionally the obturator, ilio-inguinal and lateral femoral cutaneous nerves are released.

All groin reconstructions are mesh free and performed without the use of hernia mesh.

Hydrocoele is caused by too much fluid forming around the testicle and ballooning out the scrotum. This can be treated by aspiration of the fluid with a needle under local anaesthetic, but will almost certainly recur a few times.

A more radical cure can be performed by removing the fluid-containing tissue through an incision in the scrotal skin. This surgical cure usually requires general anaesthetic and overnight hospital administration.

Sports hernias are recognised as a cause of persistent groin pain without a clinically detectable hernia. The pain of this injury is located deep in the groin area and the discomfort may become severe making it impossible to stride out properly during running or turning quickly. The treatment is by surgical repair to the posterior inguinal wall canal, and the results have been extremely satisfactory.

All hernia repairs are mesh free and performed without the use of hernia mesh.

Dr Garvey treats a significant population of female athletes in his clinic. Anatomically, the female groin differs from the male groin and Dr Garvey is able to tailor his management and treatment plans accordingly.

Sometimes known as cyclist's syndrome, this pain occurs when sitting and affects the 'saddle' area - the part of the body that would touch a horse if riding.

While pressure on the pudendal nerve may have initially caused the pain, muscle spasms may also develop. Once pain has been present for more than three to six months, there will also be changes to nerve pathways leading to chronic pain.

If no hernia is present there may only be an Adductor tendon injury, the surgery is much less traumatic than reconstruction surgery and can be done as Day-stay only. The recovery period is also shorter, and one should be able to work or return to playing sport 2 to 3 weeks after surgery.

Inguinal hernia repair is performed using the Moloney Darn or Desarda technique to strengthen the muscle wall of the inguinal canal. Moloney Darn and the Desarda technique for hernia repair is mesh free and tension free. Dr Garvey also offers reconstruction for recurrent Desarda hernia repairs in addition to Desarda repair for primary hernias.

All hernia repairs are done without the use of hernia mesh.

A varicocoele is formed in the scrotum by dilated veins that drain the testicle (rather like varicose veins that drain the leg). These dilated veins in the scrotum feel like a "bag of worms" and occur more often on the left side. The operation that is performed involves an incision in the groin rather like a groin hernia incision, and then cutting out and tying off a segment of the engorged veins.

Vasectomy is a simple, safe way of male sterilisation by preventing sperm being able to get to the outside through the penis. A small incision is made in the skin in the upper part of the scrotum and the vas deferens is located, cut and tied. A short piece is removed for examination in the laboratory to be certain the correct tissue has been removed. The same is done on the opposite side. A semen sample is required to be analysed 30 days after this operation to check for sterility.

Pain arising from a mesh is multi-factorial. Oral anti-inflammatories are helpful at times. More severely affected patients require injections with local anaesthetics and corticosteroids to reduce neuropathy symptoms. The most severe cases may require surgical intervention.

Hernia mesh removal is a surgical treatment offered for mesh inguinodynia - chronic pain that can arise due to the presence of an implanted mesh.