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advice on abdominal wall reconstruction
a year and a half ago I had mesh removal surgery and was sooo hoping I would never be back to this forum….but the Hernia rollercoaster just keeps on going 🙂
Quick run down of history. Hysterectomy in 2009, first incisional hernia found in 2012. Followed up with 2 other hernias, inguinal, that same year. The one was so far over on my side that the dr had a tough time attaching the mesh to anything. This left me with chronic pain. In May of 2015 I found the best dr. in Portland Or… Dr. Martindale at OHSU…. and he did a full mesh removal but found 2 other hernias as well that he repaired without mesh. I seem to be made of swiss cheese. Immediately I felt 100% better than I had in a year and I think I cried every time I thanked him after.
This past summer I started feeling that familiar hernia pain. So back I went. He ordered a CT scan and we found not 1 but 2 new hernias, but even worse than that, he discovered that my muscles on each side…have detached and are balling up. So now I am waiting for Surgery in Dec. (Trying to lose 15 pounds first). I will have an abdominal wall reconstruction to fix the muscles (though they are not the typical diastatis muscles, they are the obliques from my side.
I would love to hear from anyone else that has had this surgery how long you were in hospital, what your recovery was like. My insurance will only schedule it as a day surgery, but I have always been in the hospital for 2 nights regardless of what they say…I do not do anesthesia well…. I have a business trip scheduled 6 weeks post surgery that I am a bit concerned about.
Thanks for your input. 5 years in this nightmare….and no end in sight.
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4 Replies
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advice on abdominal wall reconstruction
Thank you Mom of 4 for sharing! I have too much scar tissue and this is too big of a surgery to be done laproscopically. So he is going all in, and my incision will be vertical, several inches long…. because of the way my muscles have separated. He is placing biological mesh over my entire belly area, and is actually going in and placing it BEHIND my muscles, instead of the usual over the top of the hernia…so it will be a bit more invasive. He is looking to strengthen the entire area since I seem so prone to hernias. I am not looking forward to the recovery. 🙁 I have never had drains, assuming that it is more common with abdominal reconstruction more so than an open hernia repair or mesh removal.
Now I am just biding my time, waiting very IMPATIENTLY to get on with it 🙂 December is not going to come soon enough. 🙂
You said you are a year out, how would you describe your pain now and how does it limit you in terms of e exercise, doing things with the kids/ family etc. Wondering if I will ever get out hiking with my family, or clean my house again. (not that I mind that I cant clean…LOL)
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advice on abdominal wall reconstruction
Thank you for always responding to our posts. This can be a lonely road 🙂 I trust Dr. Martindale and am just anxious to get this over with and move on. In the meantime I am slowly losing weight and trying to walk more, but even walking gives me pain… hard to find exercises that don’t cause pain. It is amazing how much we use our tummy muscles and dont realize! 🙂
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advice on abdominal wall reconstruction
I am always sorry to hear of someone suffering from multiple hernias and repairs like myself. The last surgery I had, one year ago, was abdominal wall reconstruction. I’m sure everyone recovers differently and it is dependent on the type of surgery you have, whether it is open, lap or robotic. I had open repair with an incision from hip to hip. I was in the hospital for 5 nights (ridiculous that insurance says day surgery for AWR). I had one drain removed before I left and had 2 drains in when I left the hospital. We had traveled out of town for the surgery, so we stayed across the street for another week to have the last two drains removed before going home, which is 5 hours away. My recovery was pretty slow and difficult, but my surgeon had told me it would be and it would take about 6 weeks before I even felt decent. He was right!! I did start walking in the hospital the day after and did lots of walking, in short distances, after leaving, as well. The nurses joked that they had never seen someone walk so many laps around the hall and that I was wearing a path! Haha. As Dr. Towfigh said, it is really important to avoid constipation. I had some trouble after surgery due to pain medicine. It is a good idea to take medicine to help with that issue and drink lots of water and move around often. Wearing an abdominal binder also helped with the discomfort, which may not be as much of an issue with lap repair. Preparing for surgery as much as you can is definitely a good idea- core strengthening and losing weight will surely help in recovery. I hope all goes well with your surgery and you can get back to being pain free. I am still striving for the same thing myself! Thanks to Dr. Towfigh for all of the great advice on this forum.
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advice on abdominal wall reconstruction
Having multiple hernias can be difficult. It’s also so important that you correct all risk factors for hernia recurrence prior to undergoing another operation.
Yes, weight loss is critical, as it can contribute to hernia recurrence.
Correct any constipation. So important. Treat it like you would any other disease. This means you may have to take a medication daily.
Exercise to strengthen the abdominal core muscles will help you.
I agree with you: it’s so ridiculous that insurance companies only approve a same day surgery for an incisional hernia repair. Almost all of them will require a hospital stay. That is a big and complex operation. This is just the insurance company’s way of having the opportunity to deny any hospital stay. Fortunately, they usually don’t. So don’t worry. As long as your surgeon documents why you’re in the hospital that should be ok
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