Martin Kurzer

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

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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.

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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.

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

6 months after an emergency appendectomy and a subsequent infection (cellulitis) which had burst through my tummy button I found what proved to be an umbillical hernia. The thought of going back to the NHS and possibly more infections filled me with horror!! I started looking on the internet and came across Mr Kurzer, who seemed to be an expert in this field. The cost of the operation was equal to my savings so it was a big decision for me, but with the NHS reputation for hernia ops having to be repeated every couple of years I considered that I would rather take the chance of having it done once and properly and pay for it rather than spend the rest of my life having anaesthetics/infections. From the minute I met Mr Kurzer and he talked me through the operation I knew I had made the right choice. Mr Kurzer is a really gentle and reassuring doctor who absolutely knows his stuff!! He is not arrogant or high handed as many consultants can be, he explains everything really clearly and gives YOU time to ask questions. He is very attentive whilst not being in the least bit patronising but makes you feel like you are the only patient he has, fitting in operating dates to accommodate your commitments and following up with texts/emails/phone calls to check all is ok. I am not good in hospitals, as many people aren't, but from start to finish I felt safe and in expert hands, and the operation and recovery went just as he had said they would. 7 months on and my scar is barely visible, there is no discomfort and there was NO infection. All of the staff at the St John & St Elizabeth are also really wonderful, making my stay almost enjoyable and what was impressive was that they all have the greatest respect for Mr Kurzer (which is always a good sign as they are the ones who know the nitty gritty). Should you have strong opinions against private medicine then I would just say think again about this hospital, the fact that the profits go to the Hospice situated in the hospital, which provides FREE care to those who need it, goes quite a way in my book to balancing any principles you may have about not using the NHS.

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

I felt comfortable the moment I met Mr Kurzer. The whole process including the recovery has gone exactly the way he had described. I am very pleased that I chose him.

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