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Hernia op recovery

I had one done (open with mesh) 14 years ago by an Irish surgeon who now works there- open procedure and very quick recovery. He said a tiny number ofpeople complain of severe pain afterward but they usually have particular personality issues. I’ve never looked back- it was making my life quite miserable before it was fixed I recall.

Told my wife your story and she said "I expect you will soon start screaming your head off about the unbearable agony you are suffering"!
 
Seems to be normal these days after almost any operation to be told to get up and about asap, take painkillers if you need them.

My wife had an embolization procedure on her womb a 3 weeks ago - and she had to be very still for two weeks and carry no heavy weights for that period. She has just come off painkillers, and for the two days she was in they were pumping her full of morphine and the result of embolization is excruciatingly painful. But she has now recovered nicely and has a phased return to work.

Colleague of mine has just had the gas bubble treatment for a detached retina, and he has to lie face down, flat and still for 2 weeks.
 
This is interesting for me at the moment. I was told by my doctor last week that I have an indirect inguinal hernia; I asked if I could continue to go on walks and play badminton and he said ‘yes’. And he said nothing about an operation either.

Perhaps he didn’t like me very much? :(
Given this and subsequent comments, I might elaborate what happened to me.

I self diagnosed a hernia on the right groin based on a friend's experience and 5 minutes on the internet. Feeling quite smug, I went to my GP and he agreed that I did, indeed, have a right groin hernia but also, correctly diagnosed one in the left groin too.

He said there were 2 choices: live with it and it might well not get any worse (and in fairness it was not causing any pain), or have a surgical repair. Given I was very active, I thought it might well get worse so opted for surgery.

My consultant, Mr. Savage (really), advised an open surgery stitched mesh. He was aware of keyhole options but said that all they did was push a mesh into the cavity and let it sort itself out - no stitches to hold it in place.

He also said that in open surgery they could identify any nerve ganglions that could be irritated and cause later discomfort and isolate them before closure.

In my case one was found and isolated. I now have a 1 cm area in my inner right thigh that has no feeling but that affects nothing else.

The op took 40 minutes from being knocked out to waking up.
 
Maybe I'm amazed. I can't believe how quickly I've recovered from open surgery in my groin area. This time yesterday I was still waiting for sedation and today I've walked a few miles and am not taking any pain killers. On top of that, I went 18 hours without food and lived to tell the tale, don't think I've ever missed breakfast and lunch before!
No wonder you've been so cheerful lately! Seriously, pleased to hear your recovery is going well. :)
 
I had a strangulated groin hernia which was total agony ,not sure how it happened but with in a day I had an operation with mesh repair . After the op the agonising pain had gone but uncomfortable to walk for 6 months and 3 years later it has now just about sorted itself out . I think the mesh may have been placed too tight but I was advised to let it heal itself . I think the hernia must have been very bad as a few friends have them which occassionally pop out and they just push them back in place with no discomfort
 
Good luck with the op. Recently there has been quite a lot of concern about mesh implants, but not for male hernias.

yes mesh inserts can cause a lot of problems , knew one person with many years of complications from the mesh and poor healing
 
yes mesh inserts can cause a lot of problems , knew one person with many years of complications from the mesh and poor healing

All the evidence I found suggests that the number of those with complications is far from being at a level where there are serious doubts about using mesh for hernias. I have spoken to about 6 people about this kind of intervention and none of them had any noteworthy problems. I was assured by the surgeon he has not had any patients who developed difficulties after the procedure.
 
My sporting colleague friend recently had an op. (stitched, I believe) and he was amazed at how well he felt so soon afterward. He wasn't allowed to play tennis for 6 weeks though.

I suggested he had it done in Hernia Bay but as we're in Norwich that was too far away.
 
All the evidence I found suggests that the number of those with complications is far from being at a level where there are serious doubts about using mesh for hernias. I have spoken to about 6 people about this kind of intervention and none of them had any noteworthy problems. I was assured by the surgeon he has not had any patients who developed difficulties after the procedure.

thats good to know , but bmj article suggests otherwise perhaps

https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k4104

Up to 170 000 patients who have had hernia mesh operations in the past six years could be experiencing complications, yet NHS trusts in England have no consistent policy for treatment or follow-up with patients, an investigation by the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme has found.

Around 570 0000 hernia mesh operations have taken place in England over the past six years, figures from NHS Digital show. Leading surgeons think that the complication rate is between 12% and 30%, meaning that between 68 000 and 170 000 patients could have been adversely affected in this period.

Patients who had had hernia mesh operations told the programme about being in constant pain, unable to sleep, and finding it difficult to walk or even pick up a sock. Some patients said that they felt suicidal.
 
Had keyhole mesh insert about seven years ago and it never felt quite right, went in again last year and they put another patch on the outside a bit higher up; seems to have worked ok.

A little loss of sensitivity in the area but if the repair lasts me out that will do nicely.
A friend had repeated hernia after a heart operation, up to six now; I think he's wondering whether a strip
of mesh would have done the job.
 
thats good to know , but bmj article suggests otherwise perhaps

https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k4104

Up to 170 000 patients who have had hernia mesh operations in the past six years could be experiencing complications, yet NHS trusts in England have no consistent policy for treatment or follow-up with patients, an investigation by the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme has found.

Around 570 0000 hernia mesh operations have taken place in England over the past six years, figures from NHS Digital show. Leading surgeons think that the complication rate is between 12% and 30%, meaning that between 68 000 and 170 000 patients could have been adversely affected in this period.

Patients who had had hernia mesh operations told the programme about being in constant pain, unable to sleep, and finding it difficult to walk or even pick up a sock. Some patients said that they felt suicidal.

This seems a rather inexact study and the 30% figure seeems way out of line with any direct evidence I have come across. There is lots of advice to be found and if you're interested you could investigate further.
 
This seems a rather inexact study and the 30% figure seeems way out of line with any direct evidence I have come across. There is lots of advice to be found and if you're interested you could investigate further.
I agree. If the 30% were in anyway accurate, this would have been headlne news - even if it were 12% come to that.
 
When I had an operation on my hand I asked the surgeon if I’d be able to play the piano afterwards. He said yes, which was good as it’s something I’d always wanted to do.
Little boy walks into a chemist and says "Can I have a packet of Tampax please?" The assistant smiles and says "Yes of course. Are they for your Mum? No? Sister, maybe? No? What is is that you want them for then?"
The little boy replies "I was watching TV and the advert said that with Tampax I can run, swim and play tennis, and that sounds great, I like all those things."
 
“A man walks into a chemist’s and says, ‘Can I have a bar of soap, please?’ The chemist says, ‘Do you want it scented?’ And the man says, ‘No, I’ll take it with me now.'” – Ronnie Barker
 


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