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Surgical ExpertiseHELPS WOMAN OVERCOMEComplex Abdominal oblems

Keyport resident Nicole Caddiehas had her fair share of medicalprocedures. Over the years, she hasundergone gallbladder surgery, ahysterectomy, a bowel resection,and a number of hernia repairsurgeries - all of which took anatural toll on her core muscles.With the added strain of deliveringher four children, Nicole's abdominalwall was extremely weak. So whenthe 66-year-old began feeling newhernias - bulges of tissue in weakareasof the abdominal wall- inJanuary 2012,she wasn't surprised.Thankfully, she found a solution atBayshoreCommunity Hospital.

"In the past, my body rejectedthe synthetic mesh typically used torepair hernias, which caused severeinfections and had to be removed.Becausemy casewas so complex,my doctor referred me to a newspecialist at Bayshore,"Nicole says."I had been dealing with hernias formore than 30 years and was ready tonip the problem in the bud."

An Advanced ApproachNicole was referred to Lauren Fischer,M.D., FACS,a general surgeon whospecializes in many types of advancedhernia repair. Dr. Fischer performedimaging tests and found that Nicole'sabdominal muscles were completelydisplaced to her sides. She had nocore muscles to support the strainof everyday life, such ascarryinggroceries or getting out of bed. As a

Bayshore CommunityHospital has added 130

_iiiiiii •••••ioo new physicians to our staff,expanded our emergency services,added new surgical specialties ... andthere's more to come. Read more atBayshoreHospital.org/beginning .

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result, she no longer had the structureto hold in the hernias. Without repair,these hernias would continue to grow.

"Although we perform herniarepair surgery of all kinds, Nicolerequired a more specialized, multi-disciplinary approach," Dr. Fischerexplains. "In order to repair herhernias, we needed to completelyreconstruct her abdominal wall."

Dr. Fischer called on boardcertified plastic surgeon AsaadSamra,M.D., FACS,to collaborate onNicole's surgery. During the complexoperation, Dr. Fischer reduced thehernias and Dr. Samramoved Nicole'sabdominal muscles to reconstructher abdominal wall, reinforcing herweakened muscles with biologic, notsynthetic, mesh.

"This surgerywas the first of its kindperformed at Bayshore,"Dr. Fischersays."It's an example of the types ofhighly specialized hernia repair optionswe provide. This allows our communityto havemany advanced treatmentoptions closer to home."

After a complex procedure to repair herhernias, Nicole Caddie is feeling great

and enjoying her grandchildren.

Lauren J. Fischer, M.D.Board certified in General SurgeryHolmdel. 732-847-3300

Asaad H. Samra, M.D.Board certified in Plastic SurgeryHolmdel. 732-739-2100

Dr. Fischer adds that Bayshore nowalso offers minimally invasive herniarepair options and other advancedtechniques for people with all typesand severities of hernias.

A Long-Term SolutionNicole's surgery was a spectacularsuccess.Now she'shappy to beperforming everyday activities again,like playing with her grandchildren,Amelia and Dominick.

"I haven't had a problem withhernias since my surgery - the firsttime in years," Nicole says."I hadabsolutely wonderful surgeons."