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Debilitating pain after incisional hernia surgery with mesh – 7 months post op
Hello fellow hernia/mesh sufferers,
I‘ve come here to seek help. I‘m from Germany.
I had surgery for an incisional hernia in January 2025, and I‘ve been in pain every day. I‘ve had a laparoscopic repair with mesh (IPOM) around and above the navel. The area that’s hurting the most is right under the ribs where the upper edge of the mesh starts. I‘m fairly thin and I can feel where the mesh is fastened (feels like hard lumps), I was also aware of all the tacks – hopefully mostly absorbed by now.
It’s a sharp stabbing, burning, piercing sensation that gets worse with movement, like burning nails moving back and forth. The area around it is sore and achy. I can’t walk more than 2 miles before I‘m in debilitating pain (7-8).
I feel like the mesh is tugging and pulling all the time, and sometimes it‘s like it’s chafing mechanically on my insides, like there’s a pebble of barbed wire. My entire upper abdomen feels cramped and achy, every day. The pain has gotten worse recently.
My surgeon basically said that I‘m too sensitive and I should wait and not focus on the pain so much (how??). I don’t think he’s understood. He would have taken a look inside (to maybe trim the mesh a bit as he said) during a new surgery- while installing more mesh for a small inguinal hernia I seem to have gotten since. I canceled that.
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This discussion was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by
Pandora.
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This discussion was modified 2 weeks, 3 days ago by
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4 Replies
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Just wanted to give an update. The effect from the nerve block has worn off after a week.
I’ve tried to observe myself closely and I think it’s actually different qualities of pain – a kind of sharp mechanic strain and pulling (tight mesh?). Then there’s a pulsing, digging sensation – nerve-related? (this was gone the longest after the injections). I also feel a burning ache in the old hernia area sometimes, the defect wasn’t closed during surgery, just overlapped with mesh.
In any case, I need help. I feel awful.
I have an appointment in a pain clinic in a few weeks, and I’m seeing Dr. Reinpold soon.
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Doesn’t seem like your surgeon is answering your problems.
Some surgeons to consider in Germany include Andreas Koch (see Episode 38 https://youtu.be/0hd6O9pZvBM?si=OQ8r-IIZ4cX7W_cP) who sees and treats chronic pain, and perhaps Wolfgang Reinpold, as he performs a lot of abdominal wall operations.
Things to consider include injecting the areas of pain with local anesthetic. You may require mesh removal if you do not improve, if the mesh is placed too tight, or if you are reacting to your mesh.
If you want me to look into it more for you, contact my office for an Online Consultation. info@beverlyhillsherniacenter.com
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Dear Dr. Towfigh,
thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
After more agonizing pain I found a surgeon at the other end of Germany who has expertise and who was willing to see me.
He administered two injections with a mix of steroids and local anesthetic, it immediately took away 90% of the pain. He assured me he will find a strategy for me through this pain. His hypothesis is that either the tacks have hit the nerves right under my ribs and haven’t fully dissolved yet, or that there are additional sutures that rub against them. I have almost no body fat and a narrow ribcage, which might make it worse.
If injections and waiting longer than 12 months post op (he said sometimes the tacks take that long to dissolve) doesn’t help, he would also be willing to remove the IPOM mesh – he has done this before and said it’s a last option if everything else fails. But if possible we should wait.
I’m almost pain-free for the first time in 7 months today, and although I know this likely won’t last very long, I’m hopeful again.
I will research the other surgeons too, thank you! I also have yet to decide how I will fix my inguinal hernia. I just know that I don’t want any more tacks. I’m seeing Dr. Wiese in Kelkheim next month – he also offers mesh-free repairs. But resolving the pain has priority for me now.
Dr. Towfigh, thank you so much for mentioning your online consultations – that’s another good option, even if I probably won’t ever be able to be treated by you in person.
Right now I’m very relieved that I’ve at least found one surgeon in this country who listened to me, and who offered to help.
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I feel really desperate. I‘m in Germany and the surgeons in the EU who can deal with this or even remove mesh that’s laparoscopically placed in the peritoneum, are almost non-existant.
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