Inguinal hernia

Hello Dewy. Nice to hear from you, but sorry to hear of your latest set back. Can't offer any advice, but just wishing you well and a speedy recovery. Hopefully someone with experience will be along with some experience of this. Best wishes.

Dew-Dew

Hi Dewy

My friend rily has asked me to respond to you probably because he knows I wont use one word when 10 is better!

As you are only two days from the surgery I would expect you to still be in a bit of pain from the wound area. I hope you were given advice about applying gentle pressure to your wound using your hand or a small pillow can make coughing, sneezing and moving between sitting and standing more comfortable.Keep taking the paracetamol prescribed by the hospital for as long as the pain is there.

Make sure you follow the instructions your nurse gave you about caring for your wound, hygiene and bathing.

Over time, you can gradually return to your normal activities as long as you can do them without feeling any pain.

Most people are able to do light activities, such as shopping, after 1 or 2 weeks but don't be in too much of a rush to get back into things.

Gentle exercise, such as walking, can help the healing process, but you should avoid heavy lifting and strenuous activities for about 4 to 6 weeks. After my hernia op (see below) I was told that lifting a full kettle would be too heavy and not to pick up the baby (bit old for that) or do anything strenuous with the dog and wait a while before I got playful with my wife (even too old for that!)

Listen to your body it will tell you when you're doing too much and when you can start to do every day normal activities.

It's usually advisable to avoid driving until you're able to perform an emergency stop without feeling any pain or discomfort (you can practise this without starting your car).

It'll usually be 1 or 2 weeks before you reach this point after having laparoscopy (keyhole surgery), although it may take longer after open surgery.

If you get constipated try to avoid straining on the toilet as this can cause pain around your wound. 

Sitting on the toilet and letting nature and gravity take its course is the best plan rather than straining.

You can reduce your risk of constipation by drinking lots of fluids and eating plenty of vegetables, fruit and high-fibre foods, such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and pasta.

A mild over-the-counter laxative may also help

I've not had an inguinal hernia  I developed a parastomal hernia which I had for 5 years and it was repaired last year because they had to revisit my stoma and I quote the surgeon "I'll repair it but it will come back and need attending to within 5 years" and how true he was within months it was showing a bulge the size of a grapefruit. I had to see another surgeon who examined me and confirmed it was a hernia but he decided to wait and see how it develops, it is developing quite nicely and now the size of a small melon but as I am not in pain or discomfort I will live with it for as long as possible, fortunately as an ostomate we have a range of support garments available to us but I've not come across anything for inguinal hernia patients and the only thing I can think of would be an elasticated tube bandage pulled up over the wound, but I'm not sure if it would work and its maybe worth a word at your GP surgery.

You should call your surgeon if you develop any of the following symptoms:

a persistent high temperature over 38C

bleeding

increased swelling or pain in your abdomen

pain that isn't relieved by painkillers

persistent nausea or vomiting

chills

persistent coughing or shortness of breath

increasing redness surrounding your incisions (cuts)

difficulty passing urine.

I'm sure that each day going forward will see the pain subside and you can gradually build up to doing everything you were able to do pre op but take it easy and one day at a time.

Ian

Cheers Bodach,

The surgery I had was open surgery and my right hand groin area looks like zippy’s mouth from Rainbow with all the staples applied, at the moment it feels like an elephant has been sitting on my right hand hip during surgery, the pain is quite intense so I have no idea what went on there, getting up or down from bed or sofa is probably the most difficult but also standing upright I can feel a burning sensation which can be very annoying.......and yes the constipation is an issue.

Hello Dew Dew

I'm in a similar boat! My cystectomy was in Jan 17 and robotic. Despite that, my surgeon went through an abdomen wall hernia repair I had done 20 years ago which has popped out nicely, it's 10cm x 6cm now. 

The hernia surgeon at a different hospital, a cocky blighter who seemed annoyed by me coming to him for a fix (I've moved house 100 miles away so not going back to Reading), told me his rules are that he won't operate on smokers (I gave up in 1980 so that's ok) or on patients whose BMI is above 35. So we measured mine and it was 34.9! I did shout, 'Get in!' and he looked somewhat irritated.  

I've had the CT scan to check the layout of the new plumbing so he can see where to go and await the next consultation with Mr Cocky.

And he's ginger :)

CB