Private Hernia Surgery
Inguinal Hernia Operation Cost
Some thoughts on the economic case for private hernia surgery...Prices start from £1850 - £2,500 depending on the type of procedure. Regency Health quote £2,500 for Hernia Repair
(Source: Sunday Times 15th April 2018). Economics of a hernia operation
We know that the average salary in the UK is £27,600 at time of writing (January 2018), so... given that you may in
pain or incapacitated
and unable to earn for several months while waiting for a National Health Service operation, private surgery makes economic sense for a working man on a waiting list longer than a month: (£27,600/12) = £2,300.
We are using the example of men only because a man is approximately 10 x as likely to have an inguinal hernia than a woman.To support this, we know from patient feedback that Inguinal hernia surgery is far and away beneficial to patient outcomes:
'Its one of the operations that I do that people seem to derive the most benefit from, in terms of improving their symptoms'
- Dr Jonathan Earnshaw Consultant Surgeon at Cheltenham General Hospital.
Not only will you typically be able to have faster surgery, but your surgeon may well be a specialist hernia surgeon. This is important given that lack of hernia surgery expertise is mentioned in at least one academic study as a factor in recurrence rates -specialist expertise matters.
A recent Daily Mail article on the benefits of private hernia surgery done by expert practitioners.
There is a proven correlation between surgical competency and surgical outcome. See the report from a concerned group of hernia surgeons about the 'postcode-lottery' of skills in this area.
Our own personal conclusion:
If you are working, it doesn't take much of an economic case to justify a private operation, especially if you are in pain or have a bilateral hernia.
If you are retired and relatively fit having a hernia operation now may be good planning for the future when other ailments may complicate a relatively straight-forward operation. When you go for private surgery, you are more likely to be operated on by an experienced surgeon doing hernia repair (herniorrhaphy or hernioplasty) regularly. In addition some hernia centres (such as the Hernia Clinic Hampshire) offer local anesthetic techniques which can be of benefit to patients with comorbidity issues and/or advanced years.
An (incomplete) list of private hernia surgery facilities in the UK in alphabetical order. If you want to be added to the list complete our Form.
N.B. This is personal, non-medical commentary for the readers education. Blueray Pharma Ltd receives no referral fee, affiliate link or any business benefit from any organisations mentioned in this list whatsoever.
