Martin Kurzer

Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

My hernia was increasingly uncomfortable and inconvenient, but my reluctance to undergo surgery made time for reading around mesh and non-mesh repairs. I was attracted to a Desarda repair and found Martin on a list of UK surgeons offering the procedure. The list is quite short. Even if my hernia wasn’t suitable for a Desarda repair, I wanted to be treated by a specialist who could choose the most appropriate method for my hernia, and so I declined a general surgeon’s offer of a mesh repair. I live four hours’ drive from London. After a preliminary phone call and emails, Martin offered to meet and assess me on a Monday morning and, if I was a suitable candidate, repair the hernia that afternoon. I began to suspect I might be in for a quality experience when Martin made himself available to communicate directly and responded to my circumstances. We met, he assessed, and the repair went ahead. My background reading, which included watching Mohan Desarda demonstrate a repair in a YouTube video, and the professionalism of the hospital staff lent a single-minded calm to the day. Martin called in to check my progress at 6.45am the following morning. The repair seems excellent. I was able to walk comfortably the following day. There was a little bruising which faded rapidly, and the skin repair is perfectly neat. My questions about recovery were answered in Martin’s two pages of Post Op Instructions. Martin found time to exchange a couple of follow-up emails. The idea of surgery had seemed frightening. Martin reduced the repair to a straightforward technical exercise, couched in warm, attentive, professional customer care. Martin’s repair of my hernia was in every sense a 5-star experience.

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

I was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia on my right side in June 2020 and decided to explore private options, as I was in some discomfort and keen to resume sport at the earliest opportunity. I conducted a huge amount of research and Martin Kurzer stood out as the leading hernia surgeon with an outstanding professional reputation and excellent outcomes. My interaction with the London Hernia Centre was professional and timely and following an initial consultation with Mr Kurzer, I was offered a date for my operation a fortnight later. Given the challenges all hernia clinics are experiencing offering dates for operations during Covid, this was quite exceptional. I was nervous about undertaking an operation during Covid, but felt totally safe throughout the process, as the safeguards in place at the St John & St Elizabeth hospital were absolutely stringent at all times. My operation was conducted under general anaesthetic and I was grateful to be able to stay overnight in the hospital as part of the package, as I found movement difficult in the immediate aftermath, but felt much more confident about making the journey home the following morning. All of the staff at the hospital were attentive and caring and the room, food and service at the hospital were all first rate. Mr Kurzer saw me before my operation and afterwards that evening, as well as twice the following morning. He is clearly a brilliant surgeon, but he is equally impressive as a person, as he has a warm, engaging personality and caring, compassionate manner. Nothing was ever too much trouble for him and he went out of his way to answer any questions I had in a clear, straightforward and honest manner. He made himself available after I was discharged from hospital and encouraged me to contact him at any time if I had any concerns, or queries. I experienced moderate pain post-operation for the first 3-4 days and wasn't able to walk comfortably during this time. On the fourth day I attempted a short, shuffling walk and found that I became noticeably stronger and more comfortable as each day passed. I took paracetamol for the first 5 days, but didn't require any stronger painkillers. By day 9 I noticed a discernible improvement with big advances from one day to the next. I was able to walk at pace for 6-8 kilometres without any discomfort, apart from occasional tugging in the wound area. Everything was going swimmingly until, a fortnight after my operation, the wound discharged some blood overnight in an area that was somewhat redder and slightly swollen. I was obviously concerned, as I had not experienced any pain and had felt that everything was going well. After speaking to Mr Kurzer he asked me to come in to see him that morning, as he was concerned that I may have an infection, which is very rare. Fortunately that did not prove to be the case and following Mr Kurzer's examination, he explained the cause of the discharge and reassured me that he was confident it would settle down of its own accord. He kept in regular contact with me thereafter and I'm pleased to say that everything panned out just as he had predicted. Indeed I felt so good about my recovery and the way the wound felt that I jumped the gun a bit and attempted light jogging a few days later. Mr Kurzer suggested that this was probably a week or so too early in my case and so I reverted back to just walking exercise for the time being. It's now nearly 4 weeks since my operation and I'm confident that I'll be able to become fully active and return to competitive sport in the next few weeks. I still have some redness in the wound area, but the swelling has disappeared and there have been no further discharges. Although I have experienced an occasional slight ache in my groin area over the last 3 days, there are times when I'm not even conscious of the wound, or the fact that I've had a recent operation. Given how much discomfort I was in prior to the operation, I'm so pleased that I made the decision to get my hernia sorted and very grateful that it was done so quickly through the London Hernia Centre by Mr Kurzer. I would have no hesitation in recommending Martin Kurzer to anyone thinking of having a hernia operation. He is a quite exceptional surgeon who cares deeply about his patients and their outcomes. His post-operative aftercare is the best I have ever received and I know that anyone being operated on by him is in safe hands.

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

Mr Martin Kurzer is amazingly experienced and excellent and superbly kind hernia surgeon. My umbilical hernia open repair went extremely well, purely because of Mr Marin Kurzer’s knowledge, experiences and passion. Mr Kurzer was extremely kind and supportive before and after the surgery. I cannot thank Mr Martin Kurzer enough for everything. Thank you! Warmest regards, Victor

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

I first met Mr Kurzer inJanuary 1999 when he did an inguinal hernia repair for me at the British Hernia centre.My experience was completely positive and I was struck by his kind,friendly and helpful nature.I have had no problems with this repair. I returned to see him in 2004 when I was concerned that my other inguinal repair (not performed by Mr Kurzer) was recurring.Again he was very kind and helpful and put my mind at rest that it was not and offered alternative advice. I had occasion to call upon his services again this January when I feared this same repair was failing.Once more he was able to confirm it was not and suggest an alternative approach.It was a pleasure to see him again. I cannot reccommend him highly enough.

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Written by a patient at St John & St Elizabeth Hospital

Mr Kurzer was excellent and I would recommend his services. The surgery went perfectly and the scar is very faint. You can barely see it. Mr Kurzer has an excellent manner and explained the procedure very clearly.

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