Trevor's Long Road to Recovery
Year:	2009
Type:	inguinal
Keywords:	checklist, inverted, serious

Editor's note: the following report is useful as a general reference, but the specific items and timelines will not necessarily apply to all patients. There is substantial variation in experience due to the injury, the fitness level, and the type of operation performed.

I just had hernia surgery a few months ago. My inguinal hernia worsened rapidly (over a month and half). Here's a summary of my experience. Hope that it helps others.

Here were my symptoms as it progressed:

• pin-like pain along the lower abdominal crease
• tingling sensation in the same area down to your testicle on that side (circulation being reduced)
• pressure and a dull ache in the same area when you lie down
• 'butterflies' in your stomach (muscle spasms)
• Stiff and/or achy outer large intestines on that side especially when you sit down

My case: I had an unusual hernia. Instead of bulging out where the doctors can see and feel it, mine bulged *inward* toward my hip bone. The doctors had no idea how severe I was until they opened me up. I was in far worse shape than they had expected.

Tips for before surgery:

• Look over your place as if you were an 80 year old that can not bend over. Move anything so that you can reach it without bending over much. Take this seriously!
• Get extra groceries. Cook the night before and put food into microwave-able containers. Put everything on the top two shelves of the refig. Move things down to your kitchen counters.
• Buy some soda/pop. Avoid milk or even soy milk.
• Have some cough drops ready.
• Do laundry and make sure that you have some sweat pants and briefs to wear. Don't wear boxers after surgery (you want to avoid tight seams at your beltline).
• Remove any earrings or piercings. No metal is allowed into the OR.
• Ask if you can shave yourself. Shave everything on the side of hernia half up toward your bellybutton plus a few inches down along the front inside of the leg. They will tape gauze over the wound afterward. You don't want any tape to be put on any hair.
• Get a bunch of DVDs and books. Load up your iPod. You're going to be stuck about the home for the next several days.
• Charge your cellphone.
• Get a bottle of Ibuprofen if you don't have one already.
• I know this isn't pleasant but get a stool softer and take it the night before surgery. Also seriously look at your bathroom and make sure that you can get up from the toilet with just your upper body. Trust me on this one.

Surgery:

• They're going put an intravenous tube into a vein on your hand. This is to keep the body nourished without having anything in the stomach. Stomach needs to be empty to avoid anything coming up and choking off the breath at the throat. It further minimizes the risk - take it seriously. (though the risk is low to begin with).
• They will mark the side of injury with a marker.
• They will wheel you down to the operating room where you're move onto the OR table.
• Then they'll knock you out.
• During the procedure, they will put a tube down your throat and probably pressurize your abdomen.
• They will make a three inch incision along the lower abdominal crease in your hip region. The doctors here only do the single incision version of the procedure - not the laparoscopic version with three incisions. The laparoscopic version has a higher reoccurrence rate compared to the single incision.
• They will then identify the tear/hernia and apply sutures.
• They will most likely implant a mesh to reinforce the abdominal wall. (Mine was not made of kevlar.)
• They will finish by suturing the main incision.
• They will put strips of tape perpendicular to the incision to hold it.
• Then they will use clear tape to attach a layer of gauze over the tape strips.
• The entire procedure may only take an hour. It may take you another half an hour to wake up from the anesthesia.

After Surgery:

• When you wake up, it will be all over.
• You will probably have a sore throat (caused by the tube). Your tongue may swell up as well. This is why you need the cough drops at home.
• It's important that you pee within a few hours of the procedure.
• Don't be surprised if they slightly push you out of the hospital. Health care is a business.
• They will give you a prescription for pain medication. Get it filled on the way home but in my recommendation don't take unless you really do experience significant pain. The stitches will hurt but it's not incredible. They gave me a prescription for Percocet/Oxycodone which only doped me up and increased the nausea. I wasn't happy with that damn stuff. I switched to Ibuprofen after every meal.
• Stomach gas. It's going to be bubbling up for the next day and a half. Drink soda and pop. Avoid milk/soy milk. It intensified the nausea for me. Try and move around as much as you can. Sitting too long in one place can cause stomach gas to build up.
• Eat simple digestible foods like fruits, vegs, pasta, soup, salads.
• You will not be able to bend over at all. The stitches will hurt. It will be hard to get up, walk, get into/out of bed, and especially to get on/off the toilet.
• If you're single, carry your cellphone on you just in case. I ask my friends to keep theirs on the entire first night just in case.
• Take your stool softener before you go to sleep.

In the next few days, the stitches will stiffen and incision area will swell. To reduce the swelling, lie flat on a sofa while placing an ice pack over the incision with the effected leg raised slightly.

I ended up staying inside my place four days after the surgery day. On the fifth day I went back to work. Be prepared for a shock. You will be walking pretty slow - less than half of your normal pace. The stitches will not be happy with the movement either. Take it easy. Don't over do it.

Your surgeon will probably want to see you again two/three weeks after your procedure. The tape strip over the incision will fall off by itself. I did not start any physical activities (besides walking) until roughly 5 weeks after the procedure, but my hernia was pretty severe.

Three Month update: Be careful about catching catching a cold. Sneezing and coughing are probably worst things that you can do to irritate abdominal stitches. Even three months after my surgery, a bad cold brought back a lot of pain.

12-month update: Well it's been almost a year since my operation and yes I'm still having some aches. Unbelievable. The physicians tell me that post-surgical inflammation *can* last well over a year. Their only recommendation is to keep taking Ibuprofen and icing the area if pain continues. I can only assume that the type of hernia and its severity have resulted in slower healing for me. I hope it doesn't affect others this badly.