The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center, a complex hernia surgery practice located in Waxahachie, Texas, has published an article examining when patients are justified in traveling outside their local area for hernia repair. The practice performs complex hernia surgery and abdominal wall reconstruction for patients in Waxahachie, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Midlothian, as well as for patients referred from outside Texas. The article, Is It Worth Traveling to a Hernia Specialist?, addresses the case characteristics that warrant travel and the logistics out-of-area patients navigate before and after surgery.
According to the article, travel is generally warranted when a hernia is complex, has recurred after a prior repair, or has been declined by a local surgeon. Cases in that category include large ventral, incisional, hiatal, and paraesophageal hernias, prior mesh complications, and hernias presenting with loss of domain. Patients in Dallas and Fort Worth seeking robotic hernia repair have access to procedures that include transversus abdominis release and component separation, and the minimally invasive hernia surgery program available to residents of Midlothian and Waxahachie includes laparoscopic and robotic-assisted approaches. Open techniques are also performed, including the Shouldice repair, a four-layer tissue reconstruction that does not use prosthetic mesh. The article states that no single technique covers the full range of complex presentations, and that repairs of this kind draw on several reconstruction approaches rather than one default method.
The article describes out-of-area care as a three-stage sequence of evaluation, surgery, and post-operative follow-up. Imaging studies and operative reports from prior repairs are typically sent for screening before the patient travels, after which an office visit is scheduled for a full evaluation. When appropriate, surgery can be performed that same week. A post-operative visit is arranged before the patient travels home, and the interval between surgery and that visit is determined by the complexity of the procedure performed. For most minimally invasive operations, follow-up can be arranged a few days after surgery. Patients who are Texas residents may have an initial video visit arranged. The article further notes that coverage for out-of-state surgical care depends on a plan's out-of-network benefits, that network status can differ between the facility and the surgeon, and that some plans consider single-case agreements when a needed procedure is not available in network.
Dr. Mazen E. Iskandar limits his practice to complex hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction. He earned the Surgical Review Corporation's Surgeon of Excellence in Hernia Surgery accreditation in January 2024, and The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center received that organization's Hernia Center of Excellence designation in October 2025, one of only two such centers in North Texas. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and Associate Professor of Surgery at Texas A&M School of Medicine. The Surgical Review Corporation accreditations require documented surgical volume, outcomes data, safety protocols, facility assessments, and chart audits.
"Patients who travel here have usually had one or more repairs somewhere else, and they arrive with imaging and operative reports that document what was done and what failed," said Dr. Mazen E. Iskandar, MD, FACS, board certified in general surgery, Surgeon of Excellence in Hernia Surgery, and founder of The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center. "Reviewing those records before anyone books a flight means the first appointment is an evaluation rather than a fact-finding exercise. It also means patients can be told honestly whether traveling to Waxahachie is going to change anything for them."
The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center is located at 2360 N Interstate 35 E Rd, Suite 310-B, Waxahachie, TX 75165, within Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Waxahachie, and serves patients seeking complex hernia surgery throughout Waxahachie, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Midlothian. The practice is approximately a 35-minute drive from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where rental cars, taxis, and rideshare services are available. Surgery is performed at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Waxahachie, a full-service hospital with free valet parking at the entrance. Hotels are available in Waxahachie, with additional options in Dallas and Fort Worth for patients who stay in the area until a first follow-up appointment. Driving directions from the Dallas-Fort Worth area are available through Google Maps.
For more information about complex hernia surgery and abdominal wall reconstruction at The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center in Waxahachie, Texas, the practice website is available at https://iskandarcenter.com, and practice details are listed on its Google Business Profile. The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center continues to accept physician referrals and to review imaging and operative reports from prior repairs for patients in Waxahachie, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Midlothian, and for patients traveling from outside the region. Consultations can be scheduled by calling (469) 800-9832.
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For more information about The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center, contact the company here:
The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center
Mazen Iskandar
info@iskandarcenter.com
The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center
2460 I-35E Suite 310-B
Waxahachie, TX 75165
