Martin Kurzer

Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

When at the end of June 2016 I realised I needed a hernia repair operation, I searched the internet to learn about the various repair methods before deciding which would be best for me. I particularly needed a rapid recovery so I could resume caring for my chronically ill wife. This resulted in my taking the train to London on the 27th September for a consultation with hernia specialist Mr Martin Kurzer. He was happy to carry out an open tension free mesh repair under local anaesthetic (and sedation), so avoiding the risks of both general anaesthetic and keyhole surgery. He instilled me with confidence from the moment he first greeted me in the waiting room, and when I emailed him further questions from home afterwards he replied to them all very thoroughly and promptly. I returned to London to have the operation on the morning of Tuesday 11th October. I was a little anxious about it but was put at my ease by Mr Kurzer’s anaesthetist who assured me it would be just like having work done at the dentist – and it was! The procedure was completed very smoothly and efficiently without my even feeling the local anaesthetic being administered. As I had travelled on my own I opted for a one night stay in hospital (this was included in the fixed price package) and started my journey home late the next morning by taking a mini cab back to St Pancras Station. As Mr Kurzer was unable to see me the morning after the operation as he normally would, he instead phoned me at home in the evening to make sure I was alright. I experienced some pain on movement at first but that had gone by the morning of Thursday 13th October. After that I found it best to avoid coughing and sneezing for a week or so because that hurt a little, and was cautious when reaching forward to put my socks on. However, I was able to resume driving on Saturday 15th October, and my wife only had to make me one dinner and one breakfast! It is now four months since my operation and looking back I can confirm that following Mr Martin Kurzer’s expert surgery I experienced very little post operative pain worth mentioning, took very few pain killers, and was back to normal very quickly. I am very glad that I found him.

Recommend

Trust

Listening

Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

I was needing some advice regarding the risk and possible complications that may occur at any time following bilateral inguinal hernia surgery. Being a very a anxious person since childhood I was totally overwhelmed with the thought of being operated on but equally aware that no matter how long you delay this procedure it will not get better by itself and eventually surgery will be needed to repair the hernia's. In my despair I started looking for advice and comments on the internet this hugely fed my anxiety, there are so many bad reports of poor outcomes and long term problems reported by many people who have had groin surgery it really made me wonder was if it was worth investigating further or just leave it alone, which of course made my situation even more desperate as I could not see a way forward . I eventually found a website written by Mr Martin Kurzer an extremely experienced surgeon who has done numerous operations within the field of Hernia surgery and whose advice I sought by sending him a long email listing all my fears with many questions regarding this surgical procedure. He very kindly telephoned me at home to discuss all my worries and concerns in a very calm and informative manner , a true gentleman whose advice has now greatly alleviated my fears and given me perspective to move towards having the surgery done. To any one finding themselves in a similar state of despair I would recommend contacting Mr Kurzer for his advice and opinions, you can find his website at http://www.martinkurzer.com . Thank you again Martin for your kindness and consideration, it has been very much appreciated by me.

Recommend

Trust

Listening

Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

Another successful inguinal hernia repair operation Martin Kurzer operated on me in January 2016 – see review below; at that time he said he expected me to incur another inguinal hernia on the other side – which occurred 12 months later. This operation went according to plan on 4th January 2017 – I arrived at noon, after a brief delay I went down for the operation at 3.00 p.m. then after recovering from the general anaesthetic left for home at 7.00 p.m. the same day. During the first four days after the operation I appreciated a nap during the day, after a week my ‘working day’ was back to normal. I have been for a walk each day since the op and on day six I walked two miles. Soon after the operation, my dog unexpectedly landed on the wound twice - persuading me to delay removing the bandage until day eight. On day eight, following a shower the steri-strips peeled off very easily; the wound looked very neat and tidy and was healing exceptionally well. Within two weeks the bruising had virtually disappeared and the swelling around the wound greatly reduced. Now, one month later the wound looks very neat, a smooth pink line – the swelling has all gone, still a bit pink around the scar at one end. I took the five days of medications exactly as prescribed, had no pain at any time and haven’t taken any other medications since. My experience has been that two similar hernia operations have slightly different recovery outcomes for no obvious reason. Following this hernia operation my manoeuvrability has been far better; easier to sit on a chair or the floor and then get up again; easier to get into and out of bed or a car. I’d recommend you have realistic recovery expectations; don’t return to your normal routine until you believe it sensible to do so. Martin is very approachable and happy to answer any questions or respond to any concerns. I had very high confidence in Martin operating on me on both occasions, I’m delighted with the outcome and I thoroughly recommend him his team at the St. John and St. Elizabeth Hospital to you if you need a hernia repair. Chris M – Studham, Bedfordshire

Recommend

Trust

Listening

Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

Mr Kurzer has dedicated himself to improving on the common incidence of hernias. His knowledge, experience and compassion convinced me early that he was to be my surgeon. Sometimes the patient can be problematic, and in my case, according to my friend who relayed the story later, Mr Kurzer was concerned about my paper-thin, or paper mache type of skin. Nearly 8 years later I can attest to Mr Kurzer's expertise by saying there has been no recurrence using the mesh technique and zero scarring. Plus, the costs were completely reasonable. I would recommend him without reservation. He's confident without being arrogant. A super surgeon and a fine human being.

Recommend

Trust

Listening

Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

I had a right-side inguinal hernia repair 48 hours ago at the Hospital of St John and Elizabeth. I cannot recommend highly enough the surgeon who carried it out: Martin Kurzer. From the initial examination, through surgery, to my being discharged later that day, he was utterly brilliant, bringing to it not only huge surgical experience and expertise, but also good humour and a calming reassurance – both of the latter particularly helpful to me as I was quite anxious beforehand at the prospect of having the operation. So, a very big thank you for that ... and also many thanks to the anaesthetist and to the various nurses in attendance who were fantastic throughout. Hopefully it won't happen, but if I have the misfortune to develop another hernia at some point in the future I can say, without any hesitation, I'd want Mr Kurser to be the surgeon.

Recommend

Trust

Listening