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Unusual post-op pain
I had a bilateral inguinal hernia repair done robotically in June with no pain prior to the repair. Everything went fine and had extremely little discomfort after surgery except in one area: about halfway between my belly button and right groin, which I felt immediately after waking up. The surgeon said this is about where the internal incision is. Pain was very slow to improve, felt mostly like there was a hard, tight knot in the area, but did seem to go away, especially after I started back at my (very physically demanding) job.
About 2 months post-op, I returned to sexual activity, light ab exercise, and started steroids for an unrelated back injury about all on the same day. I began to feel a pulling sensation in the same area at about the same time. This continued to get worse for a few days, turning into a sharp stab, scratchy, ice cold, or burning hot sensation mainly when bending or coming out of a bent position. Pain 8/10. It felt to me like there was something stuck in there. It seemed also to be worse in the morning and at night, improving with movement during the day.
It did subside after about 2 weeks, but did not go away and is back to the knot and scratchy pull feeling, with rare icey sensation about a month later (and after steroid discontinuation). A CT scan revealed nothing wrong. The surgeon has no idea what it could possibly be.
It sounds a little bit like descriptions of mesh pain I’ve heard, but the pain is not where the mesh is. Any thoughts?
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1 Reply
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I had a repair done in July (different type, umbilical without mesh) but started getting odd sensations and a tightness feeling at week three after surgery. It seemed to improve after my nightly 4 mile walk.
After my 4-week post op I got the all clear and started working out slowly, it persisted. Figuring it’s due to scar tissue, I started giving myself vigorous massages in the area with my knuckles and bumped up the intensity of my abdominal workouts. Five weeks later the sensations are pretty much gone.
I would try massaging the area three or four times a day and see if you have improvement. Maybe also try a collagen supplement (I started taking them a few months prior to surgery and have had good results with joint pain and muscle injury recovery in the past).
I am not a doctor. 🙂
https://www.verywellhealth.com/scar-tissue-massage-and-management-2696639
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