You probably have direct hernias, which are caused by tears in the abdominal floor.
Pain before the hernia repair is normal, and it could happen in the hernia site or in the testicle.
Meshes are never fully absorbed, as they are what keep the hernia in place, but some are partially, about 50%, absorbed. In a laparoscopic surgery, the mesh goes between your peritoneum and abdominal floor.
Complications and pain after the hernia repair vary greatly, from none to severe cases requiring a second, third, etc. surgery.
Good luck!
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06-17-2020, 11:18 PM #1681
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06-22-2020, 03:23 AM #1682
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06-23-2020, 01:36 AM #1683
I am not sure where exactly you're referring to but pain normally happens at the hernia site and especially during bowel movement or bowel gas, when the enlarged bowel strains the abdominal-wall tear (for a direct hernia), spermatic cord (for an indirect hernia), etc. Direct hernias tend to be located higher.
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07-23-2020, 04:01 AM #1684
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07-23-2020, 04:09 AM #1685
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07-26-2020, 12:16 AM #1686
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07-26-2020, 12:34 AM #1687
My doctor prefers laparoscopic TEP. I asked him about the robot (da Vinci), and he said he can use the robot but there is no advantage of using it. He also said the robot requires a larger incision than manual laparoscopic TEP. The robot is probably unnecessary in hernia surgery if a doctor is already experienced in manual TEP. It has some nice tools available to the surgeon though.
I kept going back and forth between laparoscopic TEP and open Lichtenstein and finally went with the open Lichtenstein, even though he had recommended laparoscopic TEP.
It's been about two years and two months since my surgery in early June 2018. Do I sometimes have pain? Yes, sometimes I feel slight pain in my inguinal canal when I urinate or move. I sometimes feel scared that one day it's going to turn into an horror mesh story that requires mesh removal. However, it's been mostly good, and it hasn't affected my workouts at all. I don't feel any pain when I lift and the occasional slight pain I mentioned hasn't been a significant concern. The only other thing is that my groin has never gone fully flat after the surgery. Perhaps the mesh was a little larger than it should have been and it's buckling a little.
The difference between laparoscopic TEP or TAP and open Lichtenstein is where the mesh goes. In laparoscopic TEP or TAP, the mesh goes between your peritoneum (the membrane that contains your intestines) and abdominal floor (fascia layer). In the open Lichtenstein, the mesh goes between your abdominal floor (fascia layer) and muscle layer. Both areas (inside or outside your abdominal floor) contain the nerves, blood vessels, and spermatic cord, and both can lead to pain and sexual complications due to mesh.
The key is to find a good doctor with a lot of experience and few failures. Surgery always carries risks, including death, and no one wants to have it, but if you have a hernia, it's not really optional.Last edited by drgephys; 07-28-2020 at 11:20 PM.
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07-30-2020, 12:45 PM #1688
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08-03-2020, 02:36 AM #1689
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08-03-2020, 02:46 PM #1690
No problem - as you can see, months go by between visits to this forum these days. I'm sorry to hear you ran into yet more trouble. Man, it's really been one thing after another for you. I don't know what you've ended up doing, but I agree with drgephys that that doctor's solution sounded pretty hardcore. Have you found someone else yet? If so, what course have you taken?
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08-09-2020, 10:34 AM #1691
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01-17-2021, 06:39 AM #1692
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02-04-2021, 11:06 AM #1693
3D Mesh technique anyone?
Hi All,
I have read a lot on this thread - thank you guys posting so much detail. I have a bilateral inguinal with the left side defect being more and a recurrence on the right side. I was keen to go with the Desarda technique after reading the tips from Bell0C and Ezzy227, but the Doctors in India (I'm from India) seem a little tight-lipped or unsure about it here itself - not sure if this is a frat thing. It's also difficult to find Doctors who advertise about it in India - I wrote to the Desarda clinic in Pune, but there's something about going only through them here and I don't find reviews openly other than the ones on the Desarda forum. Funny that it's more complicated here - I think it is easier if you're outside India. I really was keen on tissue repair. Anyway, long story cut short - my Doc here in Bangalore seems really good and he's recommended the 3D mesh technique (open) which kind of ensures that recurrence is almost nil. It makes for a strong posterior and anterior fix. According to him the recurrence is 0.1%
Just checking if anyone has gone through it. I would really want to get back to lifting weights and with this recurrence happening, that is something that bothers me - wouldn't want this coming back in another 20 years. I didn't want mesh, but hey...polypropylene has been sitting in me since 20 years (I'm 46) and I guess the newer ones can't be far worse than that so I'm taking my chances. Like Dr. Gephys said - as long as it's done right - then I guess it's good. I am putting all my hopes in it. More, because I have run out of steam and don't think I can wait it out any longer. It's just getting in the way of everything.
Any help, advice or experience with the 3D Mesh technique would be much appreciated.
Thanks!Last edited by zenspot; 02-04-2021 at 10:07 PM.
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04-28-2021, 06:23 AM #1694
This thread is excellent, I’ll continue reading it. I have an inguinal hernia myself, waiting to see the surgeon. The biggest thing I’m trying to figure out is what I can continue doing up until the surgery. I have very little pain or discomfort for the vast majority or the time. My PC said no heavy lifting maybe just walking and light jogging. I do push-ups and pull-ups almost everyday, I understand that is out. What about lifting light? Say 50 - 75% of normal workout weights. I’m a newbie so not that strong BUT I don’t want to lose what muscle mass I have put on. I’m thinking I’m at least 12 weeks from being full strength again. I’d like to do what I can up until the surgery. Advice please??
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05-02-2021, 05:36 PM #1695
As long as it doesn't bother you, you can lift as heavy as you want with a hernia, as heavy as when you didn't have a hernia. The key is that as long as it doesn't bother you; so, listen to your body.
Besides, you probably have had the hernia for many years to begin with, and the bulge has only recently become big enough to be visible.Last edited by drgephys; 05-03-2021 at 03:59 PM.
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05-02-2021, 06:02 PM #1696
Update:
It's been almost three years since my open Lichtenstein mesh surgery for my left-side indirect inguinal hernia on June 7, 2018.
It seems to have been mostly successful. It does not affect my heavy-lifting or other activities. It's painfree 99% of the time. However, I occasionally get mild acute pain, which goes away within minutes, but I had one or more occasions of mild pain lasting for a day or two. The only other thing that has remained is a shallow bulge, which I don't know what it is. I've never seen my doctor about it, as it has never increased in size, and my doctor is poor with follow-ups. It could be a reaction to the mesh, something, like fat, trapped in there, or a bulging mesh. The two-inch-long scar is practically invisible.
There is always a compromise when it comes to the hernia surgery. If you can have meshless repair, you will have more peace of mind; however, you will have a higher risk of recurrence. Laparoscopic surgeries these days seem to carry less risk than open surgeries, but I wasn't comfortable with having a mesh put deep inside me.
My advice: Find a good doctor with a lot of experience, and go with the technique he/she is most familiar and comfortable with. It takes many hundreds of surgeries to perfect a technique, and don't ask your doctor to use a technique he/she has only performed a few dozen or less surgeries with.
Last but not least, I had a bad car accident caused by a hit-and-run California driver that fractured my neck in August 2019. Lifting weights probably helped me escape a more serious or fatal fracture. I have mostly recovered from it. However, I took a five-month break partly due to that and partly due to buying a house and moving. Two months after I restarted lifting, COVID-19 had the gyms shutdown. I have been lifting regularly since September 2020 or so. Long breaks are detrimental to bodybuilding. You not only lose muscle but develop injuries, or existing injuries can cause shoulder joints etc. to develop adhesions due to inactivity. I'm hoping to get back to where I was. I am at 90% at the moment as far as the maximum weights I lift. For hernia etc. surgeries, the recommended break is eight weeks—no more and no less—get back to the gym with light weights after that and gradually, over the weeks, increase the weight. Always listen to your body.
One last note: The Moderna vaccine, especially the second dose, seems to have affected my lifts. It seems to decrease heavy-lifting performance and endurance. I seem to feel fatigue ever since I got the vaccine. I think this fatigue side effect lasts for about a month. It's probably due to the immune system overacting in response to the vaccine. I expect this side effect to last for about a month. Inactive people probably don't report this side effect, as it's likely not noticeable unless you're pushing yourself to the limits.Last edited by drgephys; 05-03-2021 at 04:01 PM.
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05-21-2021, 03:50 PM #1697
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06-07-2021, 10:53 PM #1698
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06-10-2021, 12:31 PM #1699
How are things now? The Proflor product is an unusual one, among all of the mesh devices. They are still promoting it. I hope it's working for you. Good luck.
https://europepmc.org/article/med/33942884
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...1111/aor.13926Last edited by SoccerAgain; 06-10-2021 at 04:00 PM.
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07-01-2021, 01:31 AM #1700
I would definitely refuse to have a 3D mesh implanted. Even 2D meshes bring a lot of potential complications, and 3D meshes increase these risks probably by tenfold. The scar tissue/fibrosis formed around the mesh is the source of the complications, and with a 3D mesh, you have a 3D scar tissue/fibrosis. This said, hopefully temerity76 will not have any complications.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrosis
There is a great mesh product made of PVDF, which eliminates most complications of the traditional polypropylene meshes by reducing the scar tissue/fibrosis formation, but unfortunately, it is still not authorized for use in North America. If you are in Europe, I would recommend this PVDF mesh called DynaMesh.
https://en.dyna-mesh.com/distribution-gb/Last edited by drgephys; 07-01-2021 at 07:00 PM.
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07-27-2021, 08:29 AM #1701
First post since 2019 lol
Noticed my hernia the first time last year in October. It wasn’t painful much. It only hurt randomly when I didn’t take a **** and was active with full bowels lol. Anyway it was growing steadily and got as big as a large egg maybe bigger, dropped down into my ball sac even. Looked like a 3rd giant testicul.. So finally I scheduled the surgery and got it repaired last Tuesday. I took notes every day since the surgery.
Open Inguinal Hernia Repair:
Surgery day/ day 1:
12:00: arrival
13:30: surgery time
~14:30: woke up seeing double still high from the anesthesia.
15:05: in the car going home, took 2 norcos. First day was fine. I got to eat finally ate quite a bit actually. Watched a bunch of TV. Was able to walk around/to and from bathroom/upstairs/backyard for evening tea. I was surprised how OK I felt, Was really easy to get to sleep. Woke up once at night sleeping on my side on accident, messed up.
Day 2: 6:45am woke up. with a lot of pain in the surgery area. Maybe because of how I slept. Maybe because the anesthesia wore off. Until I stood up I didn’t realize how bad the pain is. Pain level through the roof. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake since yesterday wasn’t bad at all. Really painful today. Couldn’t even walk to the bathroom without feeling ínstense pain in the area where mesh is installed. Can’t stand up straight. Going from laying to sitting is even horrible. Going to eat a banana and take more norcos. Gf is working from home taking care of me bringing me water and helping me move around the house when I need to.
Day 3: not as much pain straight away in the morning like yesterday but I slept on my back. Walking is much easier as well. Was able to get out of bed and walk downstairs with manageable amount of pain. Pain got worse towards the evening. Last pain killer was taken in the morning. Backed up haven’t had a bowel movement since Tuesday morning(day of surgery).
Day 4: woke up at 3am. Couldn’t sleep. No pain meds but pain was more manageable than the first couple days. Walking is easier, still can’t stand up straight and have random twinges of pain. Still hurts to sit up straight. Drank coffee and finally had a bowel movement, slowly unloaded quite a bit. such a relief. Still in pain. Taking it easy and resting, walking around the house only.
Day 5: waking up was easier. Had more coffee and another bowel movement(woohoo). Certain sitting positions stil hurt very bad. Random twinges of pain. Took a walk around the block and walking around the house more.
Day 6: pain much better although it is more swollen than before. That might be due to the fact that I’m Walking around more. Went to a couple stores with my gf. Still not doing any “hard” work. Not lifting anything more than a couple pounds.
Day 7: took the day off from work to rest and relax for one more day. Tomorrow I’ll start working from home. Pain is more manageable although sitting in some positions or for standing for prolonged periods causes pain. I am more "active" washed the dishes, took out the trash, cleared some space in the garage moving empty boxes and such. Also fapped 2 times in the morning and once at night lmao still can’t have sex tho.
Day 8: Pain is better. Going to start working from home today so we'll see how it goes to sit for long periods of time. Still swollen. Still get random twinges when I step with too much confidence or move abruptly. Sneezing and coughing cause the most pain it seems.Last edited by 4204Casper; 07-27-2021 at 10:55 AM.
banned for posting cake farts
**Genova Witness**
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08-08-2021, 06:07 PM #1702
Had my inguinal repair a couple days ago. Just had a great BM. I've been trying to stay off the norcos and just do the Ibuprofen thing, but I had 1 last night. My surgeon said he'd give me a month off work, now I can't believe I'll need it but I'll take it. Only issue is I'm probably 5-8 grand out of pocket with missed time.
FWIW, I've had this thing at least since last fall sometime. Was misdiagnosed at a ER, figured it out myself a little later then worked a labor intensive job with loads of overtime plus working out regularly since. Bathroom issues were really the only problem, and standing more than a few hours at a time. If I had better access to leisurely bathroom breaks and didn't have to stand so much I'd have been fine indefinitely.
I read a lot of horror stories online, about people losing function, no feeling in genitals, messed up nerves, not being able to walk or use the toilet, etc after surgery. So partly I put off surgery for awhile because I felt I was managing fine and didn't really want the interruption and cost of surgery if I wasn't going to feel better soon. I mean, I was already in pain and handling it, always conscious of the incarceration risk of course. Anyway, after more research and working long hours at multiple jobs and accruing vacation time, I determined just about the worst outcome of surgery is that I would feel better than I have for the past year but it might take me a month to get there.
Happy I had it, some pain but not any worse than it has been, I had morning wood the next day. I read accounts of all these supposed fit lifters saying they couldnt use stairs for awhile or get around and their whole bodies were swollen for weeks, etc, wtf. My surgeon encouraged me to use stairs the day of the surgery, my hernia area is swollen but that's about it.
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08-10-2021, 12:55 AM #1703
Some updates. This afternoon will mark 4 full days since my operation. I will call it Day 5 and refer to the day of surgery and aftermath as Day 1 (I went in during the morning and was home around 1pm).
So far day 3 was probably the worst for pain and bathroom stuff, as well as swelling and bruising. I've tried to stay off the narco pain pills and do the whole 800mg ibuprofen thing. one reason is the prescription pills supposedly cause constipation, which is the most painful thing I've experienced with a hernia. But it seems like the ibuprofen does the opposite. My first BM took awhile but once it came through it hasn't stopped since. The pain was much worse for the year or so I worked with a hernia than it has been since being operated. Of course I'm trying to take it easy to recover but I have no real restrictions other than not really lifting or doing work requiring lifting. I am encouraged to walk a lot and use stairs, etc. It's easy. I haven't driven yet. I was told not to for 5 days but I wonder if this is because the prescription painkillers are a 5 day supply. I've use 2 out of 20 of those.
Day 3 I developed a purple bruise, I basically have a 3 inch purple band around my peen. it seems like this is normal due to expected fluid retention and bruising that can go from the surgery site down through the genitals and that area. I have no reduction or change in size or feeling with any of my genital area. Sac is normal size and consistency.
I think I might have some sort of post-op depression or something. Hard to describe but just a little bit of weepiness and empty feeling that comes and goes. I think it's something I will shake as I get more active.
I have been able to eat normally but I ramped up slowly starting with gatorade and then jello and applesauce, on to toast and so on over a couple days. Wasn't really told to do this but I figured I'd want see where my BM function was and be gentle for a bit. My day job burns around 4000 calories a day or so and I expect to be off around a month. So I'm trying to keep my calories kinda low and expect to be a little depleted for a bit rather than sitting home getting fat. I feel physically better than I did a week ago when I was working and lifting light, but I don't want anything popping this repair.
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08-24-2021, 12:51 PM #1704
What kind of surgery did you have and what materials were used? Most of this thread's discussion is about the types of material and the type of surgery.
There is pure tissue repair via open surgery and there is mesh repair via open surgery. There are many different types of open mesh repairs - Lichtenstein, plug, plug and patch, Prolene Hernia System (PHS), and Onflex, for example.
Without the details, no offense intended, your story has little use to anyone trying to determine the best way to have their hernia addressed. Seriously, not trying to make you feel bad or troll you, but all you're saying is "I saw a surgeon and now I don't have a hernia".
Who did the work and the material they used would be most helpful. And report back over the months ahead. Mesh problems take time to develop. I hope you end up with good long-term results but about one in six, at least, don't.
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08-25-2021, 11:19 PM #1705
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08-25-2021, 11:33 PM #1706
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08-30-2021, 12:05 PM #1707
No problem. I had laparoscopic with mesh. I just used a local surgeon in my medical group. Midwest USA. He claims this mesh has been in use for a long time with no issues (we discussed mesh issues and lawsuits). I am working class with a HDHP and not too many options (it is what it is); I'm pain-free but probably going bankrupt. Not trying to be over-positive. It's just that I've been on my feet an average of 12 hours a day the last year with my intestines pushing out, so a few days after my surgery I felt better.
Thread was called "Official Hernia Recovery Thread" - I thought it was about sharing our personal hernia experiences, not who has the best acce$$ to the latest materials and can fly all over the world for surgeons when some of us just need to be able to work and eat and such without our insides coming out and are sort of at the mercy of our means.No sig
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08-30-2021, 12:52 PM #1708
The first few pages of the thread kind of give the impression that hernia repair is risk-free and no big deal and that people should just go get it done, that it just takes bravery to overcome the fear of surgery. But the reality is, verified by published scientific studies and a wave of lawsuits that are about to work through the courts, that there is about a 10 - 30% chance that a person will have discomfort or chronic pain after hernia repair with mesh.
The odds say that you have a good chance of being just fine. Take it easy, give things time to heal even if your surgeon says that you're free to go do whatever you used to do, and don't try to "test it" to see how strong it is.
I had a bad mesh repair so I feel compelled to provide a counterpoint when people imply that there's very little risk involved. The risk is substantial and the physical cost is great if you get a bad mesh repair. And no matter how tough or strong or smart a person is they can't just power through it and work harder to get well.
Even though this thread is over ten years old nothing has really changed. Things are probably actually worse now. Getting a hernia repaired with mesh is a gamble with odds that aren't fantastic.
Sorry, wish I could be more positive. I understand about the problems with today's healthcare. Most of us have to take the risk but some people will have a choice. Good luck.
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10-25-2021, 10:40 AM #1709
I think I'm at close to 4 years since having a bilateral Desarda repair with Dr. Tomas in Ft. Myers. I've been at 100% for a long time, strength and flexibility are normal, still lifting, no complaints. I documented all this pretty thoroughly in previous posts, so I won't repeat myself - just figured it's rare to see longer-term reports, and thankfully I have nothing to report. I hope the old guard is doing well...
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06-20-2022, 04:01 AM #1710
Can we grade activities in terms of risk?
Not sure how ongoing this thread is (or where it is situated on the site) but my question is "How can I judge whether or not a particular activity,after an inguinal open surgery is more or less likely to present a problem?"
Is it mainly down to common sense and listening to your body?
Feeling your way ,so to speak?
I am just now considering whether or not to undertake jobs that involve swinging a machete in the long grass.That involves twisting the torso with some force
Might that be inadvisable a few weeks into recovery?
Again ,carrying long wood logs over the shoulder.If they are lifted very carefully should the actual act of transporting them be quite safe even if they are actually very heavy because all the weight is being born by the shoulder and the legs rather than the groin?
Another one:apparently jobs that require sitting on the floor are risky.Is kneeling OK?
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