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The Shouldice Method

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The Shouldice Method

Abstract
Dr. Earle Shouldice and his method of hernia operations and recovery methods are discussed. The discussion includes techniques pioneered by Dr. Shouldice, and the founding and operation of a facility bearing his name and utilizing his methods.
Keywords: Earle Shouldice, Shouldice Hospital, Shouldice Method, hernia

The Shouldice Method
The Shouldice Hospital Limited case consists of the story of an Ontario farm boy who grew up to significantly impact the lives of thousands of hernia patients. Dr. Earle Shouldice grew up to become a prominent lecturer at the University of Toronto, ran a private medical and surgical practice, and was a successful researcher (Heskett, 2003, p. 1). He performed an appendectomy in 1932 on a seven year old girl who remained active post surgery. This led to his interest in early ambulation. Years later, Dr. Shouldice began taking a deeper look at the actions of post operative patients. Remembering the case of the seven year old girl, the doctor allowed wash room privileges to four men immediately following their surgeries (Heskett, 2003, p. 1). Ultimately, this led to Dr. Shouldice opening his own hospital facility which eventually consisted of an 89 bed capacity where he performed hernia correcting surgery using local anesthetic, encouraging comfortable movement and a specially designed post operative regimen (Heskett, 2003, p. 2).
Shouldice Hospital treated only external hernias which were generally repairable within approximately 45 minutes. Operations were not performed during Saturdays or Sundays but patients did recover during the weekend (Heskett, 2003, p. 11). Primary or initial hernia repairs consisted of about 82% of operations performed while recurring hernias initially repaired elsewhere consisted of about 18%. Traditional methods of hernia repair would usually consist of the insertion of

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