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My Recurrent Hernia – Full Story
I have a couple threads I started…one regarding the discovery of my recurrent hernia, the other about pain expectations once fixed. Figured I’d combine it all in here for anyone to reference should it be helpful.
About 12 years ago, I had an inguinal hernia repaired laparoscopically with mesh (original hernia was on left, right side repaired “proactively”). Recovery was quick and any residual pain was gone after 6 weeks or so. Thinking back, the surgical “holes” were the cause of most pain I experienced. Fast forward to a few months ago…after lifting a few things out of my truck (home improvement FTW), something felt off. The next morning in the shower I had a bulge in my groin, right side above the “business” end of things. Didn’t hurt but freaked me out and a quick trip to the ER diagnosed a hernia.
I ended up consulting three local surgeons. The first would do an open repair with the logic if method 1 fails, use method 2. Makes sense. Another surgeon in this practice was a da Vinci advocate. He would go in to see what was going on and fall back to open if needed. Third surgeon was also a da Vinci advocate and was confident it would be fixed. There was nothing wrong with any of them, I am just tired of being the guy that always falls under the “small percentage failure rate” with things.
At this point I started looking into surgeons that specialized in hernia repair…it was this time I came to understand the differences between deductibles, out-of-pocket max, and in/out-of-network with insurance.
My hernia was repaired three weeks ago during an open procedure, the recurrence was caused by fat that found its way around the original mesh. Per the operative report, the preperitoneal space could not be easily dissected due to the previous repair. Due to this, a small PerFix plug was used. This is an ugly thing to google, you’ll quickly find more lawyers than doctors offerz opinions. I asked the surgeon about it and they talked me through the procedure…I trust their decision and hope I’m done with hernias.
Recovery…I stayed in a hotel for a couple days after surgery. Was given Percocet for pain, knocked out the pain but made me feel horrible otherwise. Managed to get by with Tylenol and ice. We drove home on the third day and I ended up sleeping like a baby once I got into my own bed. On day 4 I felt great, so great I walked around too much and ended up relaxing the next couple days. By the end of the first week I was back at my desk (work from home). A good amount of numbness on the bottom side of the incision, right side of scrotum, and upper part of my leg (inside by groin).
The second week was uncomfortable but not extremely painful. Seems like things started to wake up, sensation coming back where it was numb. Right testicle is a bit swollen. Still using Tylenol and ice, not lifting anything heavy.
The third week (this week) was much like the second. The uncomfortable feelings are mostly limited to the incision and my right testicle (occasionally if it moves shifting around). Right testicle is still a bit swollen, surgeon says it’s not unusual and should subside over the coming weeks.
I’ll update this as things move along. Biggest lesson learned is to avoid googling medical things.
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8 Replies
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What’s the latest with your testicular pain, [USER=”2725″]VegasHernia[/USER] ?
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Thank you very much… please do keep updating
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Here we are 10 weeks after surgery. Swelling is pretty much gone and you’d have to really look for the surgery scar. Kids brought home some type of “flu light” from school…given the amount of coughing I’ve done the past week, it’s a miracle I didn’t have a blow out lol.
The only complaint I have is my right testicle gets pissy. Well, again not really my testicle but the area above/behind it. I’ll have a week of nothing then it’s noticeable for a day or two. Not bad pain, just achy. Called the surgeons office a couple weeks back…doesn’t seem to be uncommon, especially with an open repair. But they did say to let them know if it continues. I have a work function in SoCal in a couple weeks, probably going to stop by and get it checked out.
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quote VegasHernia:Yesterday marked five weeks since surgery.
At this point I have no pain at the incision site and the swelling has gone down considerably. Still have some numbness, but it’s getting better as time passes. The only naggle is my surgical side testicle is still a bit tender. Wouldn’t call it pain necessarily, just a bit of occasional “hey I’m here” discomfort where (what I assume) the cord connects up to it.
Had an “Oh @%#” moment last week when the left side started hurting. If the other side has a recurrence, I’ll start playing the lottery cause I assumingely hit some crazy odds. Here’s to hoping there isn’t a “second recurrence” thread down the road 😮 (pain stopped a couple days later).
My surgeon was Dr.Todd Harris in Newport Beach.
Thanks for the report of surgical experience and the name of your surgeon, it sounds like the recovery is going very well.
Take care, and keep us updated on your progress.
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quote VegasHernia:About 12 years ago, I had an inguinal hernia repaired laparoscopically with mesh (original hernia was on left, right side repaired “proactively”). Recovery was quick and any residual pain was gone after 6 weeks or so.
Can you find any information on the materials and method for the bilateral repair from your original surgery? 12 years ago it was probably TAPP with a “heavier” mesh.
I know of someone else who had a laparoscopic repair many years ago, over 15 I think, and had no problems. Then they had a second laparoscopic mesh repair on the other side about six years ago and had problems from the moment they woke up. Eventually having the newer mesh removed. A person would assume that something is different between the long-term success, for 15 years, and the immediate mesh reaction from the second surgery. This is on the same person, so the “individual patient differences” theory doesn’t work well.
It could be materials, or method, or maybe quantity/coverage area. A good medical student could probably figure something out, with a good sponsor behind them. If people want to know.
[USER=”2725″]VegasHernia[/USER]
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Yesterday marked five weeks since surgery.
At this point I have no pain at the incision site and the swelling has gone down considerably. Still have some numbness, but it’s getting better as time passes. The only naggle is my surgical side testicle is still a bit tender. Wouldn’t call it pain necessarily, just a bit of occasional “hey I’m here” discomfort where (what I assume) the cord connects up to it.
Had an “Oh @%#” moment last week when the left side started hurting. If the other side has a recurrence, I’ll start playing the lottery cause I assumingely hit some crazy odds. Here’s to hoping there isn’t a “second recurrence” thread down the road 😮 (pain stopped a couple days later).
My surgeon was Dr.Todd Harris in Newport Beach.
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[USER=”2725″]VegasHernia[/USER] thanks for sharing. Please update us. Also, share your surgeon’s name.
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Google… double edge sword…. as I go through this journey I am haunted by the movie the Matrix…. blue pill or red pill…. that’s what google and the like is to me…. probably wouldn’t understand unless you got into the the movie… please do update us…. like in the wizard of oz… I’m the lion looking for courage…. this post makes me sound like a real movie buff… I’m not… not sure why I keep making references to them… wish you all the best
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