Reply To: Internal inflammation with lap mesh

[ajm222]

the post i spent 20 minutes making of course didn’t go through (this website is maddening).

long story short, three years of discomfort and tightness and soreness. not disabling totally but made life very unpleasant. some improvement at 18 months but no resolution. at times felt ok, but other times particularly when laying on back i’d get these weird sensations like my insides were being pulled in different directions. very unsettling. and always sore during and after sitting. would even get weird feelings all the way up to my chest. never could tell how much was mental. always wondered if i changed my gait and posture as a result of the surgery and simply threw my mechanics off. still don’t know for sure. mesh was found to be folded a bit in the middle but that often doesn’t cause people problems.

everyone is different and it’s hard to advise. but just be aware that lap mesh statistically seems less problematic, and avoids some major nerves and other structures. also, a big point, is that if you need it removed, you can still have a tissue repair in the mostly ‘virgin’ open space later, which is what i did. only had that done in feb but already feels better than the lap mesh ever did. but too early to know long term and if it will hold. anyway, you can’t really get a lap tissue repair. so if you get open mesh and have it removed, that area would be really tough to then follow with a tissue repair because it would be a mess. you’d more likely have to do a lap mesh. so another mesh if the scar tissue didn’t hold after removal.

i’d tend to recommend a tissue repair first – shouldice probably if direct and larger – and no harm no foul if it fails and then you can do lap mesh. i’ve always been bothered by the fact surgeons use mesh with no recourse when there are problems. fortunately we now have surgeons who can take it out.