Quote:
Originally Posted by ender18d
Relevant Section of 40-501
g. Abdominal wall. Hernia, including inguinal, and other abdominal hernias, except for small asymptomatic umbilical hernias, with severe symptoms not relieved by dietary or medical therapy, or other hernias if symptomatic and if operative repair is contraindicated for medical reasons or when not amenable to surgical repair
So yes a symptomatic inguinal hernia would not meet medical standards for Airborne, but if repaired successfully it would be a fairly easy waiver, and given the relative wiggle room in the language of the regulation possibly even something that could be filed "information only." (IE not even requiring a true waiver). A successfully-repaired inguinal hernia does not even require a waiver on a flight physical, so I doubt the waiver authority at Benning would feel much differently.
Your surgeon is probably going to want you on a dead-man's profile for +/- 6 weeks or so after the repair, and then a gradual return to activity. Anticipate the surgery and subsequent convalescence to take more out of you than you would expect. I would not plan on going to selection or any other strenuous events requiring your best immediately after you come off profile. Additionally, a sensible doc is not going to fire off your flight physical until you're both off profile and passing a PT test.
Inguinal hernia repairs are a common surgery that has a relatively low rate of complication or failure. Discuss the various options with your surgeon but as a general rule go with whatever approach/technique your surgeon uses most often.
-Your friendly neighborhood flight surgeon
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I really appreciate the response. It’s good to hear that I should be good to go once I am healed. As for now I will wait to hear when the surgery will be scheduled. I am hoping for a date before our scheduled HBL so that I can use that time to recover at my own pace, as well as not wasting any time that I could be recovering. In the event that I do get surgery before HBL my plan is to recover the full length of my profile, following doctors orders as far as output is concerned then use my 6-7 weeks of AIT as a build up and hopefully be back to where I was by my graduation there. I am also under the impression that I will be stuck here after AIT waiting for an Airborne date, as well as other various holds before SFAS. Once my body is healed I plan on using those holds as well as my time in Airborne to continue my training before SFAS.
Thank you,
Fish on his head