“I was afraid it would burst,” said Ms. Hudson, 74, a retired airport baggage screener in Ocala, Fla. The painful protrusion was the result of a surgery gone wrong, according to medical records from two doctors she later saw. One of the doctors she saw later, a leading hernia expert at the Cleveland Clinic, doubted that Ms. Hudson had even needed the surgery. Ms. Hudson’s original tear, which was about two inches, could have been patched with stitches and mesh, the surgeon believed. And that figure is a fraction of the actual number, researchers said, because most hernia patients are too young to be covered by Medicare.

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Persons: Peggy Hudson’s, ”, Hudson Organizations: Cleveland Clinic, Medicare Locations: Ocala, Fla