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Laproscopic Post Op Recovery (Seroma)
Hi everyone – had a laproscopic left inguinal hernia repair about 2.5 weeks ago. Was told by the surgeon it was a ‘medium size hernia’.
Went generally very well, was walking around the neighborhood the next day and after three or four days was getting out of bed without pain and had no major pain issues in general.
It’s a shade sore at times but the pain has been pretty ok. I never took Percocet but did ice it the first week or two and now occasionally use a hot compress and an Alleve every once in a while.
In general a way better recovery than an open surgery I had on the other side 15 years ago.
The one issue I have is swelling and a hard-ish lump at the site of the repair. Assume it’s a seroma of some sort. My surgeon said it’s 85% likely to go away by itself but to come back in a month and that if it’s still around she will aspirate and drain it.
Hopefully it won’t come to that but I guess it’s not the worst thing!
Wondering if this is a common experience.
But generally feels like it’s going well!
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4 Replies
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Dear Karthik.
Return to your surgeon and ask him/her to evaluate the swelling.
A seroma can be aspirated.
If you have a healing ridge, then that should resolve with time.
Regards.
Bill Brown MD -
Any other experiences with post op seromas? Did it go away normally (and if so how long?) or did they have to aspirate?
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Thank you, Good intentions!
Mine doesn’t really swell and shrink – it just kind of stays there. But it doesn’t really hinder me and feels sore there occasionally but I’m guessing that’s just part of the normal healing.
When did you have your surgery? Did it ever go away?
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The void left when the hernia sac is pulled backed in can fill with fluid. I had a lump there that would swell then shrink with each activity cycle. Eventually it just became a hard lump.
If it’s not painful and doesn’t hinder your activity it might be best to leave it alone. Every time they break the skin there’s a possibility of infection. That’s a whole different problem.
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