-
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
Dr Towfigh,
I wrote about 2 months ago about undetermined pelvic pain and have a followup question.
I had an open mesh repair done for my inguinal hernia about 2 months ago. I followed post op procedure with mild walking starting about 2 weeks after surgery. These were on flat ground and never more than about 20 minutes. During one walk I turned to the right and felt a ripping sound and thought I had ripped the sutures out. There was some minor pain but no swelling. Then about 6 weeks after surgery I was doing a mild massage closer to the abdomen and felt another ripping sound. This has got me worried especially because my recovery doesn’t seem to be progressing. I can walk now about 15 minutes before a stiffening starts to occur. It’s not a sharp pain but I feel I could get to that point if I walked long enough. The flesh after a 20 walk feels hard as opposed to soft at the start. I also have problems with upright sitting. That too leads to similar conditions. Walking after a prolonged sit is often stiff and noticeable.
I guess I have 2 questions.
1. Did I undo the mesh repair those 2 times.
2. Is me recovery proceeding normally based upon what I have described.
Thank you
-
6 Replies
-
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
Not necessarily…
not all pain is nerve pain and not all pain is addressed via neurectomy
Neurectomy is most helpful if there is actual nerve injury. Irritation alone is not an indication for nerve transection. There are risks with neurectomy. -
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
What you describe sounds a lot like what happened to me. Two years of pain and suffering in what turned out to be a femoral hernia. I had two episodes of quote ripping and the second one seemed to be the occurrence of the femoral hernia. The Dr. stated he inserted the mesh so tight it would never move. I had CT scan but showed nothing. I think the best according to this site is MRI while bearing down or Motion or dynamic ultrasound.
Good luck.
-
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
Dr Towfigh
Thank you for the time you have taken to answer my questions.
I have some more if you have the time. I am trying to get a CT Scan to find out what exactly happened to me during this surgery.
Aside from the pain that develops with prolonged standing and sitting I am now have a dull testicular pain on the same side as the surgery. This never existed before the surgery and seems to be increasing with time. I have read all 23 pages of this forum and the best I can come up with is that the mesh is irritating my sperm cord and that this is normally solved with a neurorectomy. Is this correct?
-
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
The most recent papers show that redo surgery after anhernia recurrence (eg, laparoscopic repair after open repair) have similar recovery than first time surgery. That’s good news.
I would seek consultation from a laparoscopic surgeon. In SF area, try Dr Hobart HARRIS and Matthew Lin.
-
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
I just wanted to add some more information on these symptoms. There has been some reduction in pain in some areas but the pain in the area to the left of the pubic bone, in a gap between the leg and the bone gets pretty sore when walking. The same area gets progressively sore when I sit, the more upright the greater the pain. This pain radiates into the left testicle. There is actually greater pain sitting than standing now. The flesh on that side of the penis is puffier than the right side. It feels a bit swollen but not painful to the touch. To be honest I think my hernia was in better shape before the repair. My surgeon had told me prior to the surgery that he had never had a mesh failure because he did open mesh surgery.
It’s my understanding that the secondary repair is less likely to be successful than the first. Is that correct? And the recovery is longer and more painful?
I am thinking of going to a hernia specialist for the second repair, if needed. I would very much like to go to your Beverly Hills clinic but I have no place in Los Angeles to recuperate. No friends. However, I do have people in the SF Bay Area I could stay with. Are there good hernia repair specialists in the Bay Area you would recommend strongly? Someone that could do a repair with a small chance of failure.
Thank you
-
Mesh Hernia repair failure or not?
Hmmm. Hard to tell.
The ripping you felt may indeed be a ripping, however, that does not necessarily imply that you have a hernia recurrence. Sometimes sutures or mesh will shear from its original placement but the repair remains intact.
Only time will tell. I would followup with your surgeon. Based on your exam, he/she may choose to watch you longer or image you. I choose MRI for these sorts of situations as t shows the mesh distinctly from the hernia repair.
Log in to reply.