USF Health recently launched a new service dedicated to hernia repair and is making this available in three Tampa area locations – giving patients across the region greater access to advanced hernia care.

The Hernia Center includes a team of surgeons who offer the newest approaches to open laparoscopic and robotic surgery for all types of hernias, from the simplest, most common to the more rare and complex.

While USF Health has always offered hernia repair, this new center concentrates and centralizes hernia services, an approach that benefits patients the most, said Vic Velanovich, MD, professor of surgery, Director of the USF Division of General Surgery, and the Vivian Clark Reeves/Joy McCann Culverhouse Endowed Chair in Pancreatic Cancer and Digestive Disease.

“This new Hernia Center pools our expertise to improve patient outcomes, better control surgical safety and quality practice, and, with our clinical research arm, bring new diagnostic technology and the surgical procedures for study,” Dr. Velanovich said.

“Our Hernia Center is protocol-driven and evidence-based. This more coordinated care offers a level of expertise only found at USF Health.  We participate in the American Hernia Society’s Quality Collaborative to insure the highest quality of care.”

The USF Health Hernia Center is set up in three sites – the Morsani Center for Advanced Healthcare located on the USF Health main campus in north Tampa, within Tampa General Hospital located in downtown Tampa on Davis Islands, and in the newly opened TGH Brandon Healthplex located on Palm River Road in Brandon.

“With three locations, our hernia expertise is now closer to home for patients across the region,” Dr. Velanovich said.

The team of seven surgeons specializes in evaluating and treating all types of groin and abdominal wall hernia repairs for both adult and pediatric patients.

Hernias can affect any of us, at any age. While most hernias are easy to repair, there are certain types that can be complicated and even life-threatening. There are several types of hernia conditions, and the most common include:

• Inguinal hernia (in the groin)
• Umbilical hernia (in the navel)
• Incisional hernia (at the site of a previous surgical incision and might require abdominal reconstruction)

To make an appointment, call 813-974-0424.