Multiple hernias repair – success stories please

[SFIrishGuy]

Eva,

Good evening. I am wondering if you could give us an update on how your husband feels now? And if possible, and for others maybe a brief timeline of how your husband faired as the months past and what he felt and how it Changed. 🙂

[Alephy]

I have posted many questions about biological (by which I mean re-absorbable meshes derived from animal tissue) meshes, and tried to get hold of papers that wold indicate the higher recurrence rate (some doctors claim these meshes fail at the two years mark) but I could not find any.

From the papers I have read it seems these meshes pose a (much?) lower risk of chronic pain; also from a common sense point of view at the very least even if you had problems with them, they will eventually be gone, which avoids the need for the very difficult removal surgery.
I still don’t know whether less scar tissue results from the implants (which would be a good thing), as this in the end may still cause pain I guess…

It is interesting that during the emergency surgery they resorted to the bio mesh.

Incidentally there are few papers out there that reject these meshes on the basis that they are too expensive, which sort of highlights one of the pillars of the hernia conundrum i.e. money 🙁

If and when I will get surgery, a bio mesh will be my first choice (should I decide to go with a mesh)….

[saro]

it seems to me that it is a story with a happy ending. the excellent choice to undergo surgery by Dr. Brown but also the great fortune of a quality intervention even in the subsequent emergency hospitalization. Considering that urgency is reported as a cause of high risk, the emergency surgeons also performed well. Many patients immediately write about good results and then forget to offer and follow us. But what amazes me most about this story is that it talks about meshing only in reference to its previous condition, while it doesn’t talk about meshing after the operation. It seems we can deduce that a biological mesh is indeed a bit special, a non-mesh, judging by what he writes

[meshagony]

I’m not sure what kind of biomesh they used and I really didn’t have a choice, since it was done as part of an emergency surgery. I do recall them telling me that it was similar to a pig skin if that helps. I may be able to find out by reading my operative report. I will get back to you if I can find specifically what it is.

[Good intentions]

That is a good story meshagony, thanks for sharing. I have been tempted to respond to this Topic with advice about moving and exercising when things get painful. I had found that with both the mesh and after mesh removal that sometimes I would have localized pain that felt like it needed rest but only got better with movement. Walking or running or biking. I could wait days for the pain to subside and it would not, but a long hike, or a run or bike ride did help. It’s a little bit counterintuitive and you don’t know if it works until you try it.

Three months is still very early for Eva’s husband’s problem, considering all of the work described. It should be noted that the “biologics”, as they seem to be called, are not all the same, and they do not have a long verifiable history. In essence, they are just another prosthetic material, similar to the synthetics, with a similar history of problems, successes, and no collection of results to study. Another hit or miss hernia repair method.

Do you know what type of “biologic” was used for your repair? Eva says that the porcine material was used on her husband. The new one is the sheep rumen derived material from Tela Bio. It is very new and also has little verifiable history in inguinal hernia repair but it is being pushed pretty hard, and the company just went public. Time might tell something, but odds are it will just join the crowded field of choices.

Wikipedia’s entry gives a pretty good overview of the state of the “biomesh” materials.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomesh#:~:text=Biomesh%20(or%20biologic%20mesh)%20is,lata%20of%20a%20cadaveric%20human).

• This reply was modified 3 years, 5 months ago by  Good intentions.

[meshagony]

Hello Eva, I’m a 46 year old male who suffered from chronic pain caused by hernia mesh for 16 years. My experience was challenging but it does have a happy ending. It reminds me of your husband’s situation except my hernia issues were in my right inguinal side. The mesh was hard and it prevented me from doing anything. All basic activities (like doing house chores, taking the trash out, etc) were very difficult. I finally decided to have my mesh removed because of the hell it was causing me. Finding a surgeon willing to remove it was a challenge. The surgery was a high risk but worth it and I would recommend him to anyone.

These were my old symptoms exactly as I had logged them on this site in 07/2019; (Today, all of these symptoms are gone)
lots of flank pain, groin pain, hip/leg pain. left leg goes numb, knee goes cold especially when I wear elastic or heavier clothing such as jeans or winter wear.
difficulty sleeping at night due to groin pain and/or numbness in leg and knee (more comfortable when I sleep nude or on my right side)
frequent urination when I’m having pain
Testicles turn purple especially when I first wake up in the morning but color comes back after hot bath.
Occasional Abdominal pain and swelling (hardening of the stomach)
Occasional Constipation

This is how I dealt with the discomfort exactly as I logged it 07/2019;
I take an extremely hot bath every morning to reduce flank and groin pain
I take anti-inflammatory medication and kratom every morning to reduce inflammation. The more I can reduce the inflammation, the better I feel.
I Sleep with a pillow between the legs applying pressure to my scrotum
I Wear very loose clothing, usually one or two sizes too large.

I had my surgery to remove mesh with Dr. Brown in Fremont, CA. He opened me up and was stunned to find, not one, not two, but three individual meshes in me! Two of the products were mesh plugs, which are now rarely used because of the complications associated with them. The plugs were stuck to everything. Dr. Brown spent six hours carefully removing my mesh. The man is a saint!

Despite his careful operation, his sutures could not hold due to the amount of damage the prior mesh had caused, so the very next day, I ended up with a bowel obstruction (this is why you stay in a hotel near him – I regretted that I didn’t). My wife called him at 2:00 am and after determining that I was too far to get to Fremont, he instructed her to take me to the nearest emergency room. I had an emergency surgery where they put in a single piece of biological mesh. I am now on my one year of recovery and I feel amazing!
So here I am, 16 years of suffering from chronic pain and age 46. I have no more chronic pain, I need no more hot baths, I have no more problems wearing jeans or slacks! Last March, (right before coronavirus required their closing) I was at Universal Studios Florida for 5 straight days. I had no problems walking all day (except for the blisters from my shoes). It feels like a fresh start. The only challenge now is rediscovering my career which was shattered because of my health complications.

My surgery was on October 11th, 2019

My story is very rare especially since I recovered. I can remember many days, weeks, and months crying fearful I would never get better.

This is my advice although I realize not every situation is like me.

1. The first thing I’d do is try simple remedies to make the pain less of a burden. Try anti-inflammatory medication (but be cautious of blood thinners). I took Kratom for pain as an example. Look at his wardrobe and see if there is anything that can reduce his discomfort. I remember not being able to handle even my underwear briefs because the elastic made everything worst. I literally had to cut my elastic off. I wore sweats that had a light elastic waist and they were normally one or two sizes too large.

2. Next, I’d think outside the box when it comes to finding a good specialist and doctor. I went through hundreds of doctor visits and most of them were pointless. It wasn’t until I started considering a permanent solution (in my case removing the mesh and having it done right) that I made real progress. Many doctors are business owners first and doctors second. They are running businesses and they don’t have time or the skills to try to figure out something that isn’t within the scope of what they’re used to. I watched a youtube video on the mesh packets and they’re actually sold with installation instructions for the surgeon. This is why many doctors are comfortable putting them in but they don’t know what to do if there’s an issue. The issues are not within their understanding. Not all doctors are like this though. Many have a passion for their trade but many don’t.

I wish you and your husband the very best and I hope this helps a little. You are not alone in your journey.

[drtowfigh]

Dear Eva Tulip,

We are fortunate to have had many positive success stories in this forum. Please search the forum for key words, such as “success” and hopefully you can read them.

[ajm222]

Hey James – you had indicated in the past they lingering tightness was an issue, maybe because of scar tissue. After another 5 or 6 months, does this seem to be improving at all?

[JamesDoncaster]

Hi Eva. I haven’t had an experience exactly like your husband. However, many people on this forum have been through very bad situations and come out okay after some time.

In my case, I had a hernia repaired with mesh, which ended up causing immense pain. After 6 months I had it removed. And, now, another 6 months after the mesh was removed, I feel mostly normal.

In general, I think it takes a very long time to recovery from abdominal surgery. In my experience, things start to feel much better around 5-6 months. And then there is some more slow improvement over the net 5-6 months.

I think there is plenty of reason to believe that your husband will be much better off in a year’s time.

[Unknown Member]

Hello! Thank you!! Yes indeed, in our case as it is multiple hernias and a big mesh patch I assumed it is not the common case so thats why I wanted to write more specifically about it and see if anyone has experienced what we have

[Unknown Member]

Hi James! Thank you so much for the reply!
I guess non of us is worried whether this is post-surgery uncomfortableness, its more that he shared the other day he sometimes feels pain and the same “hardness” and “bulgeness” as when he had the hernias. Even though no visible bulge is there (yet). He said he feels its like its back, which scared me, although again – his stomach now is incomparable with what it was..i guess we have to wait and see. In his case also the mesh is natural material so hopefully it helps..
I am wondering something about your case – when hernia require mesh repair but then the mesh is removed, what “holds” after that the intestines? Do you continue with the hernia as it was? Or how does that work?