What’s your name and age?
Stella Smith, late 40’s.
Where do you come from?
United Kingdom.
How long have you been an EHS member?
Five years.
Describe a day at work as a surgeon in your country:
Surgeons in the UK look after ward patients, see patients in clinic, they may do endoscopic procedures (eg colonoscopy), attend multi-disciplinary meeting, operate on elective (planned) patients and undertake the “on-call” managing unselected emergency patients.
What is your favourite AWR procedure/hernia surgery?
My hernia practice consists of patients with large ventral defects, many of whom need soft tissue reconstruction. My favourite procedure is an abdominal wall reconstruction with abdominoplasty in a patient with massive weight loss. My plastic surgeon and I can completely transform that patient’s life in one day. It is a very rewarding operation and the patient’s are so happy when they come back to clinic afterwards.
Why is it your favourite procedure?
As above.
Who inspired you to become a hernia enthusiast/surgeon?
I think I “fell” into abdominal wall reconstruction. I am a colorectal surgeon and learnt about AWR as a trainee. At the end of training, I undertook two trauma fellowships where I learnt much about the management of the open abdomen and, subsequent, reconstruction. It naturally followed that part of my consultant practice was looking after patients with large ventral hernias.
Please, give a small tip or trick to share for this or any other hernia procedure?
Optimise, optimise, optimise. In my country, where 2/3 of the population has a raised body mass index, weight loss is the key to success in ventral hernia surgery. We have GLP-1 agonists available and bariatric surgery. I also get patients to exercise, stop smoking and optimise their diabetes.
Have you attended an EHS congress, meeting, or course?
Yes, all of these.
Which made the biggest impression on you?
Cadaveric courses are always good fun and, even if one is faculty, one always takes a tip/trick away from them. I really enjoyed the Parastomal Hernia Study Day in April 2025. Seeing so many patients and stoma nurses in the room highlighted how important the whole multi-disciplinary team is in managing this complex problem.
What made it great?
As above.
How can the EHS help you in the future?
I think hernia training needs to be accessible for all. Online resources that are free to members provide CPD/CME education affordably.
What is your dream for the future of hernia surgery?
Seeing robotic hernia surgery embedded as standard practice in the UK.