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Recent Inguinal Laparoscopic Surgery and post op expectations
This is for anyone that could give a little guidance or has experience with this type of surgery.
I am 4 days removed from a left inguinal laparoscopic surgery. The pain has been fairly straight forward as of now and I did not take any pain medication today and am doing well. I am able to move around better than the past few days, but have some questions about healing.
I still have this feeling as I walk that there is a bulge in the groin area. Is this due to the swelling where the mesh was placed? I keep thinking that broke the mesh.
Also about 7-8 hours after the surgery the inner part of my lower thigh and knee started feeling numb. It is very localized to about 3 inches above and below the knee, but just on the inner part. The sensation rounds from tingly: pins and needles to slightly numb were I can feel things, but just very muted to what is normal. I am wondering if the numbness is something that is a major concern. I contact the surgical and she indicated that it is possible that I will feel this for a few days. I am curious if this is sometimes part of the healing process where the nerve can be affected due to swelling and immobilization during surgery.
Thanks to anyone who can shed some light.
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4 Replies
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I had inguinal no mesh a month ago and it has only been this week that I am without numbness and nerve pain in my leg, so right now I’d go with normal. It got slowly better for me. Very slowly better.
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Thanks,
I figured it was too soon, but wanted to see what thoughts some may have. I will look into get the notes.
Thanks
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Sorry to sound so “not positive” Pericles. Really though, it’s too soon since your surgery to know what’s what. At four days there is most likely still lots of extra fluid around the surgery site that needs to be removed by your body. But getting your surgery notes while you wait is worth doing.
Good luck. [USER=”2993″]Pericles[/USER]
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Change – The details of your surgery might help. There are two main forms of laparoscopy, TEP and TAPP, and many different types of mesh, plus the two main types of hernia, direct or indirect. The surgery notes should describe what the surgeon found and what they did.
Generally though, the mesh, of whatever brand or type, is just placed over the hernia area, with much extra material extending well beyond the area of the hernia itself. The stretched out hole is almost always left alone. This extra mesh material will shrink over time as your body tries to heal. The mesh itself is pretty strong and very unlikely to burst or tear. The swelling that you feel could be fluids that have accumulated in the stretched pocket left by the hernia contents after they were pulled back in to the abdominal cavity. There is no way to predict the results of any individual’s surgery, because no data is collected for all of the different possible combinations, so no correlations of good or bad can be made. Surgeons themselves, most of them, have little idea of how their patients do beyond a few weeks after surgery.
Staying mobile during the first few weeks seems to give good results. It will move the fluids around in the dissected area so that new tissue can grow in to the mesh. The dissection process, the peeling open of the cavity in which to place the mesh, is the main damage that your body is trying to heal. All you can do for the first few weeks is hope, the average surgeon will tell you to wait and see what happens.
Good luck. Keep walking and moving around, don’t do anything strenuous. Things might turn out okay for you. But, unless a hernia recurrence is found, there is no standard course of action to make you feel better. If the mesh looked “right” as they closed you up they aren’t going to do anything for weeks or months. Don’t expect a response from your surgeon that involves more surgery, it’s very unlikely.
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