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Question
Hi there and thanks for the posts. Both are excellent scenarios.
– You should look into getting a Gastroenterologist to evaluate you for SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). After surgery, if antibiotics were given to you (e.g., for your laparoscopic surgery, even one dose of antibiotic will do), it is possible that this caused an imbalance in the bacteria in your intestines, and thus you now have SIBO. The classic symptoms are bloating, especially worse with eating, and no change in diet works, but probiotics may have a small improvement. A hydrogen breath test is the study to diagnose this. A specific type of antibiotic and diet will help treat this.
– Ultrasound and CT scans may be negative for small inguinal hernias or small recurrences in the groin. However, they are excellent tools for evaluation of epigastric hernias. If there is not hernia, then usually that is a true finding, unless the study was misinterpreted. Perhaps you have a suture reaction, such as to the knot in the suture(s) placed, and that is the cause of the bump under the skin. That is easily treated with either time (allow months), or local exploration, even in the surgeon’s office.