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Spieglian Ventral Hernia — Very Concerned Post Op
Hello,
I was hoping someone here might be able to help alleviate some of my stress and concern.
I had a laparoscopic appendectomy on 6/19. The surgery and recovery was uneventful until 6/24 when I noticed a lump on my right side. The lump is located far to the side of the abdominal region, and sits higher than the belly button, it is appoximately 2-3 inches from a port incision from the appendectomy. It was originally about the size of a ping pong ball. After finding the lump, I made multiple trips to the surgeon and was told it was everything from a seroma to a lipoma. Finally, fed up I made a trip to the ER, a CT scan reveled a relatively small Ventral Spieglian Hernia. The hernia was all fat with no bowl protrusion. I was assured at the hospital that the hernia was no big deal and probably wouldn’t require surgery. The ER attending even went so far as to tell me that the hernia could strangulate and, since it was just fat, nothing would happen (I’m still not sure if that’s true).
I went back to the surgeons office the next day and after examining me the surgeon felt the hernia should be repaired. On 7/5 I underwent laparoscopic hernia repair. The surgeon said the hernia was small and he was able to repair it with stitches, he did not use mesh. Approximately one day after the surgery (when the swelling had gone down enough to notice), I found that the area where the hernia had been still had a protrusion about the size of a ping pong ball. I called the Doctor who suggested it was simply swelling and to give it time. After no improvement over the weekend, I had the CT Scan repeated. The radiologist who read the CT scan noted that there was still a ventral spiegilan hernia present. However, the surgeon disagreed with the radiologist and told me the hernia was repaired but that there was some fat left over that he could not push back in laparoscopically. He noted that he left the fat there because he wanted to avoid an open surgery and that the fat would eventually disintegrate. Concerned about the discrepancy between the radiologists opinion and my surgeon ,I sought a second opinion with a surgeon at another hospital. This surgeon suggested the same conclusion: the hernia had been repaired but there fat left over in the space and there was inflammation around the fat. I was told that it would dissipate in 4-6 weeks and that there was nothing to worry about. It has been 2 weeks and area is smaller, about the size of a marble. However, it still feels very deep seated and I seriously doubt that it is going to completely disappear. I’m not having much discomfort in the area but I am concerned about this lump.
I suppose most of my concern stems from being completely unable to find any reports of “left over fat” anywhere in my research. I am confused as to why this complication seems so unremarkable to my surgeon but is not really found in the literature. Further, I continue to have concern regarding whether the hernia was in fact repaired. Am I simply overreacting to a typical complication or should I be concerned?
I really appreciate anyone’s assistance.
Thanks,
Rob
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