Preparing for hernia repair

October 28, 2014 8:48 AM

I'm having a hernia repaired next week, and I'm having trouble finding much reliable information on what to expect online. What was your/your friend/your lover's hernia repair like?

I have a left indirect inguinal hernia (though my surgeon says there's a chance it's a femoral hernia). It's still fairly small; I started noticing it about a year ago. I am female and in my early 30s, which makes it harder to find information since inguinal hernias are much more common in men. Thanks to a previous MetaFilter question about hernias, I knew to ask about mesh vs non-mesh, and my surgeon agreed to do my repair without mesh.
I'm curious to hear about experiences recovering from the surgery particularly. How long did it take you to start to feel better? Were there any things that were really difficult? Any things you found out that made the recovery easier? Anything I should know to ask my surgeon? I'm nervous because I really feel like I don't know what to expect, so any information you can share would be really helpful (or point me in the direction of good sources of info online, if you have those)!

posted by sabotagerabbit to Health & Fitness (14 answers total)

This previous thread may help.

I had the mesh repair, so I don't know what is involved in the non-mesh repair. I assume its a newer technique as opposed to the old-fashioned just stitch the muscles/flesh together. Before the mesh technique I was told by numerous people that the recovery was lengthy since it was a rather rudimentary method of solving the problem.

Your surgeon will know best what the recovery time is like since he is most familiar with the problem, your particular case and the methods used. One thing I learned was to definitely not be afraid of asking questions!
posted by alhadro at 9:05 AM on October 28, 2014

Response by poster: I do realize that YANMD and that experiences will of course vary. But sometimes reading other people's experiences is useful anyways!
posted by sabotagerabbit at 9:52 AM on October 28, 2014

I would say the surprise for us was that the immediate recovery (first 72 hours) was rough! Like a lot of people think "Oh I'll just take the subway home" and then after release from recovery room are weeping (from emotion, not pain, or maybe both) as the anesthesia wears off—and then feel that night like they'd been hit by a garbage truck. That fades quickly though! It's just important to know that your body might be like what the fuck did you do.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 10:07 AM on October 28, 2014

For any men who happen to read this - a surgeon I know urges male patients to urinate thoroughly before the procedure because in rare cases the prostate can seize up temporarily and make urination all but impossible for the ensuing 24 hours. IANAD, I have no personal experience of this, I pass it on for what it's worth.
posted by IndigoJones at 10:23 AM on October 28, 2014

I had a mesh repair for an inguinal hernia some years ago. 48 hours after surgery I asked the surgeon if it would hurt if I went running. He said--yes it will hurt but it will not damage you or the repair. A short shuffle convinced me it did hurt--after 1/2 mile I decided that a leisurely walk was the better alternative. It healed incredibly quick and without incident.
posted by rmhsinc at 11:05 AM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Clean your house before you go in & lay in some provisions, also loose clothes. Have someone help you home, and ask someone to be on call for help at home. I would ask doc to prescribe strong pain relief, though most are pretty stingy on that front. (I didn't need anything special, but I like to have it on hand in these situations.) I was able to hobble my apt around w/o help; went out after ~3 days, still hobbling but not too bad. Couldn't have done anything strenuous for 5-6 weeks, iirc. All in all it was not bad.
posted by LonnieK at 11:06 AM on October 28, 2014

For the first few days, avoid anything that might make you laugh and keep funny people far away from you.
posted by shvaughn at 12:40 PM on October 28, 2014

"He said--yes it will hurt but it will not damage you or the repair."

I was told the complete opposite; that the odds of complications go way up with too much early activity. Ask your surgeon.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 1:50 PM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

Mr Know-it-all is absolutely right--please do not rely on my, or any other anecdote, for medical advice. Best of Luck
posted by rmhsinc at 1:56 PM on October 28, 2014

I had the mesh repair a few years ago, and was told not to do anything strenuous (running, cycling, lifting) for at least 6 weeks! I cheated though and got back on my bike after about a month.

It hurt like bloody hell the day of and for a few days after.

I think technically the mesh is supposed to be absorbed, but 5 or so years later I swear I can still feel it in there. Otherwise, no problems since.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 2:59 PM on October 28, 2014

I had a double inguinal hernia repair without mesh some years ago. It was pretty painful for some days and took about a week before I wanted to do anything but lay in bed. After three weeks I was able to do a trade show, with a walking stick. The repair has worked wonderfully well, though, with no discomfort of any kind after healing, and no signs of any recurrence.
posted by anadem at 7:28 PM on October 28, 2014

My brother's surgeon left a sponge or something inside him and my brother had to go in for additional surgeries after the first one didn't heal right. So I recommend checking that your surgeon hadn't recently relocated because he'd lost his license to practice in his home state.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:52 PM on October 28, 2014

I presume you've already covered this with the doctor, but if not: find out if this is open or laparoscopic surgery. If you have the option, ALWAYS go for laparoscopic over open surgery. Apparently it greatly reduces the pain and recovery period.

I had a partial colectomy this year, which is really different from what you're facing but has some similar features. If your surgery is anything like mine, you'll be verrrrry sleepy for a few days after. You will just sleep and sleep like you wouldn't believe.
posted by Ursula Hitler at 10:44 PM on October 28, 2014 [1 favorite]

I had an umbilical hernia repair (open, non-mesh) in February. Perhaps inguinal hernia repair is totally different since it's much lower in the abdominal wall, but with mine I was utterly unable to use my abdominal muscles for anything like standing up from a sitting position for an entire week. I was staying with my son for the first few days, and he rigged up a weighted stepstool next to my bed and if I needed to get up for the bathroom or anything I had to lean my forearms on one of the steps to laboriously push myself erect without abdominal muscles being involved. Like Ursula Hitler, I slept quite a lot. While I did get slightly more limber with each passing day, I walked bent over like a chimpanzee for most of that first week. After 10 days sick time, I was able to return to work, moving gingerly and taking things slowly.

I recommend you stock up on easy foods (soups, frozen entrees) beforehand. If you are living with someone or can have someone stay with you who can do shopping, laundry etc. great. Otherwise arrange delivery of groceries and pick-up, drop off laundry service for at least a month. You absolutely must not lift things of any weight for something like 3 months if you are having open surgery. But believe me, you probably wouldn't have any urge to try.
posted by RRgal at 8:47 PM on October 29, 2014