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Chronic Mesh Pain and Weight Loss
Good afternoon, everybody!
I am wondering if steady, unexpected weight loss is considered beneficial to inguinal mesh pain or would be disruptive to the mesh/scar tissue that was formed there? In other words, should I be worried and try to put back the weight I lost?
I had right inguinal plug and patch surgery in 2014 with uneventful recover. I was 210 pounds at the time, unhealthy BMI of 28. I was 210 pounds at the time of the surgery and until October 2015 when I developed chronic pain in the area. I talked about this pain in another post on this forum and the jury is still out what is causing it – the radiologist believes that I have a small recurrent hernia on the end of the mesh, the two hernia surgeons believe that I have no recurrent hernia because the ultrasound images show the pre peritoneal fat pushing up the mesh but not entering the canal inguinalis. I had uploaded the ultrasound file to this forum before.
From October to May I went from 210 pounds to 187 pounds, and now have healthy BMI of 24.7. The fat layer that comfortably covered over my incision is gone and I can suddenly see my incision more clearly now and also have a more pronounced “feel” or palpation of the mesh plug through the skin when coughing (not expansile palpation – no bulge). The pain is neither better nor worse, but the fact that I can see more of an incision now and the skin seems thinner makes everything – from passing stools to wearing tighter clothes more sensitive. That layer of fat I had on the tummy used to hide the mesh plug deeper and felt more comfortable.
I did NOT try to lose weight by the way. I am consuming same amount of calories as before, but spacing out my meals (two dinners, for example, instead of one big dinner). Because of hernia mesh pain, I do not want to have heavy stomach, but I am still eating a lot during the day just in smaller doses. All bloodwork (PSA, LFT, Lipase, CBC, bilirubin, Metabolic) came normal, except for severe vitamin D defficiency (14).
I am worried about the effect on the mesh and scar tissue – especially if I continue losing weight. From what I understand, surgeons “design” the size of mesh for the size of waist the patient has at the time of the surgery. Thinner patients get smaller sized meshes, right? What happens when the overweight patient’s weight goes down significantly years after the surgery?
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1 Reply
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Chronic Mesh Pain and Weight Loss
We do. It tailor the size of the mesh to the weight of the patient. However, thinner patients are more likely to have sensation of the mesh so I prefer heavier weight mesh in the obese and lighter weight in the thin patients.
Losing weight down to a healthy weight without malnutrition is protective and preferred for hernias.
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