Adhesions from hernia repair…

[localCivilian]

[USER=”935″]drtowfigh[/USER] Thank you for the information Dr. Towfigh. The sensations btw are slowly decreasing. So I guess most likely for sure it’s still just a bit swollen, I am slow healer unfortunately.

[drtowfigh]

Adhesions are basically scar tissue. They occur with any trauma or surgery. Laparoscopy causes less trauma and so less adhesions. Mesh can cause adhesions and how much depends on where the mesh is placed, what type of mesh, and the body’s specific tendency toward making more or less adhesions.

Adhesions are usually not painful and cause no problems. Also, they lessen over time as the body remodels scar tissue constantly.

[localCivilian]

[USER=”1660″]idoncov[/USER] Good point on the mesh size, never seemed to think of it that way. The mesh size that was implanted in me was a
5.12 x 5.12 circular mesh, so pretty large. I think surgeons put such a large piece though due to mesh shrinkage, although I’m not sure if mesh really does shrink that quickly or at all. I guess it depends on the materials used.

I just hope it isn’t adhesions. From what I hear, adhesions is a whole different ball game that is never ending. The only way to cut off adhesions is by surgery, which is what gives you more and more adhesions in the first place.

[idoncov]

quote localCivilian:

[USER=”1660″]idoncov[/USER] Also, how are you feeling after the removal? Any other problems?

It took a great deal of time to recover from the mesh. While the mesh was there I had nightly low grade fevers that came regularly. Even a short 3 block walk would cause me to start sweating and major fatigue. I could no longer sit at a dinner table and finish a meal without these feelings. I remember going to a barber shop and coming home drenched after a 20 minute haircut. There were rashes that would appear after exertion as well.

All this slowly dissipated and went away, almost imperceptively at first. Even though the mechanical pain from the mesh was relieved by the surgery it took a long time for the system to regain it’s ‘balance’. The mesh was removed in February but I still experienced sweating and fatigue going into September of same year. I’m 72 so perhaps a younger man would bounce back quicker. There were times when I thought nothing had changed, that I was just as sick as ever.

[idoncov]

Those pulling symptoms got worse for me as time went by. Initially they were barely noticeable. I felt a pulling and pain if I slept on either of my sides. As a result I could only sleep on my back. But as time went by the pulling would appear even when going for a car ride of more than say 30 minutes. And it seemed to radiate from the umbilicus area to the back.

When they finally opened me up they found abscesses all along the edge of the implanted mesh. Once the mesh was removed and those abscesses were cut off the body started to recover. But the pain you describe was an immediate fix to what must have been a mechanical issue because it was gone as soon as I left the surgery center.

My take on this is as follows: When you add a 4×6 inch mesh you reduce tension at the hernia site by reducing flexibility of tissue all around it. However, your body is a fluid object that reacts to pressure and gravity. As you move from side to side there is a natural stretching and compression of skin, organs, and what not. If you restrict this motion you build pressure points at the point of restriction (where the mesh is actually sewn on) which cause pain and discomfort. It’s like hanging clothes on a line. Everything hangs at the point where the clothes hand from the wire. When you remove the mesh you free this restriction, the tissues are once again allowed to stretch, and the feeling of being pulled is gone. The bottom line, is that the mesh is an inert material with virtually no stretch. When implanted everything must stretch to accomodate the mesh. The bigger the mesh, the larger area affected, and the greater the discomfort. When I had a smaller mesh implanted this was less of a problem.

Hope this helps.

[localCivilian]

[USER=”1660″]idoncov[/USER] Also, how are you feeling after the removal? Any other problems?

[localCivilian]

[USER=”1660″]idoncov[/USER] Glad to know that I’m not the only one and I am happy to hear that you had it resolved.

For sure it happens after I get out of bed or stand up after sitting for a while, then I just kinda stretch it out a bit and it seems to go away but comes back here and there and it’s very annoying and discomforting. It’s especially worse after I have a meal.

I’m hoping it’s just my body healing still. I’m still kind of swollen from the surgery too so could just be healing.

Did you have the mesh removed because of that reason alone or was there other complications tied along with the tugging sensation?

[idoncov]

“I’m six weeks post-op from an umbilical hernia repair with mesh done laparoscopically and I have noticed sharp tugging and pulling sensations when I get out of bed or even just from twisting or trying to stand up straight. The sensations aren’t really near my umbilicus but around my abdomen”.

Yep, I know exactly how you feel. Been there, done that.

I can’t tell you what caused it but that pain went away the day after the mesh was removed, never to return. That pain remained with me for a full year from a few weeks after the mesh was put in to when it was removed.