Compared to special briefs and hernia belts with straps (good luck taking them off if needed, and then having to put them back on, etc.), the "Kifidis hernia belt with steel plate," specifically the DOUBLE one I bought, is a LIFESAVER for those with inguinal hernias. I don't know if the single one is as practical, since as I see one side has a fabric belt (and I suppose you have to use the "leather strap" at the end to fasten/stabilize the whole thing onto the one and only "pelotte"), but the double one I have, which is like an "opening ring" and you put it on/take it off IN ONE MOVE IMMEDIATELY (like putting on/taking off a waist belt with Velcro), as I said, is a lifesaver... (obviously you wear it over pants/tracksuit, and not necessarily underneath like with briefs/hernia belts). The pressure the steel plate applies to that "difficult spot" of the body is EXACTLY what is needed to "hold back" an inguinal hernia (special briefs CANNOT do much in terms of tightening/holding back the increasingly protruding hernia). Of course, it's not a cure, and no one will avoid surgery one day, but for those (like me...) who have reasons to want to delay that damned moment as much as possible, this particular TOOL from Kifidis, which is the ONLY one I found in the country in 2024 when I was searching, will help so that one can continue to be functional (i.e., do their work) and not be afraid of having a bowel "strangled" (and then it's all over), which is usually involved in the phenomenon of inguinal hernia.
The steel plate is not going to get damaged or "loosen," it's just that the leather it's covered with will eventually lose its stitching, so either you take it to a seamstress to reinforce the stitches, or you can even wrap/reinforce it with simple "packing tape" (preferably Parkside brand from Lidl, which is very durable/sticky and comes 3-4 times a year), since there are essentially TWO plates (if you get the double) and the leather covering them, if it loses its stitching, the whole system loses its "stability," as the two plates inside their leather cover "slide" over each other, so you can adjust the diameter of the whole system according to your body, and if the stitches come undone, there goes the stability of the whole thing. With new stitching or tape wrapping, everything is fine. Finally, for anyone who also has back issues, this particular tool will bother them, especially if they drive and wear it, or even just do chores. I think the company should have taken care of this and put some soft material as padding on the part that touches the back. Personally, I solved it by wrapping some foam used for "dressing" pipes (cylindrical with a hole in the middle) and wrapping that with tape to keep it stable, and since then the plate doesn't "hit" my back.
For a year now, it has saved me, since surgery is not planned yet. I couldn't do anything, I was constantly using my left hand to "press-hold/reposition" the hernia. A bit pricey of course (the double one at €80 – personally I have both left and right, hernias – and not €60 as it normally costs, because according to Kyfides himself who examined me, I needed larger pads -> so a special order was made to my measurements) but it's worth it (I almost can't feel the right hernia, it's "very internal", that's why I think that this particular double plate doesn't require someone to have a double hernia to use it, but as I said, the double is probably more stable as a tool than the single. And if someone is too bothered by the pressure of the second pad, they can even "shave it down" with some kind of grinder, for example, to smooth out its oval shape and make it flat, so they can continue to benefit from the support that the double plate offers around the entire torso, compared to the single, which is made for one hernia) while the €35-40 for a related slip was almost wasted money (okay, there are times when that will also be convenient. Not to mention in combination with the plate, but without the slip's pads. But with only the slip you can't manage, whereas with only the plate, you can). Doctors will say their own things again (about "adhesions" etc.), but in practice, I repeat, it SAVED me. I struggled a lot to search/decide what to get and I even went to Kyfides from the other side of Attica to try it on the spot (yes, they allow a trial), but in the end, I repeat, I WAS SAVED. It's a shame I didn't write all this earlier...