Hernia surgery am i unlucky?.

[KPS]

Had my inguinal hernia repaired by open surgery 6 weeks ago today. Worse off now than i was before i had the repair all wa s ok for the first week, and then the pain and discomfort started to increase.I visited my GP who said all was well and not to worry about the hard line above the incision it was scar tissue forming and prescribed a course of anti biotics to counter any swelling.This achived nothing and the discomfort increased although the bruising went away to be replaced with numbness down the side of my groin and the top of my leg.As well as this i now started having pins & needles in my right hand and loss of feeling as well at various times another GP visit and we decided the hand problem may be to nerve damage from the blood pressure band being too tight!.The pain was probably due to nerve damage and the nerves being trapped in the healing tissue. Having endured two more Gp visits with little progress i was told to wait a couple of weeks to see if things settled down i have only started driving to work which is 5 miles this week, as i still find it difficult to lift my leg too high.I cannot continue to do my job as a heavy vehicle engineer and am working in the office untill furthur notice. Each day when i get home it feels like i have a heavy bag of potatoes pulling at my groin and i am ready for bed at 8.00 pm, another visit to the Gp next week and it's time for me to turn up the heat, i will keep posting developments.

[admin]

Thanks KPS, the more people come out with their warnings about this surgery, the more we can hopefully prevent stories like yours. No, you're not particularly unlucky. The statistics are there for all to see - up to 40 per cent have long-term post-operative pain and/or numbness. We all wish you the very best success in finding a solution, and please do keep us posted.

[KPS]

Update.Been to the GP again today and saw a diffrent doctor he recognised my problems straight away and suggested a cortisone mixed with an anaesthetic injection to lessen the pain.He admitted that the tissue was still swollen and that i had suffered nerve damage during the surgery,at the moment it feels strange as it's only one hour after the injection. Back to the doc in three weeks to see how it went, also solved the problem with my numb hand tunrs out that the radial nerve in my elbow has been crushed while i was on the operating table, wait the three weeks to see if it improves before any treatment interesting web site to view regarding anaesthetic during operations www.rcoa.ac.uk will update soon.

[KPS]

Hi Everyone, latest update Hot off the Press.Been to see my GP again today, after my Cortisone Inj last time which hurt like Hell the next day then evertyhing calmed down for a couple of days before the pain returned.Explained this to the Doc and he checked me out again and this time found the spot where the pain was coming from,after i peeled myself off the ceiling he tried a test with a needle to see if i could feel anything in the area that's numb from the Incision down the side of my Groin and into my leg i did not feel anything.I am now going to try some Nerve blockers Amitriptyline Hydrochloride to take the pain away and make me more mobile to see if the nerve tension decreases!.Although the side effects are a bit worrying.We will see another update in a week in the meantime if you are considering hernia surgery think very carefully.

[KPS]

Hi everyone another update, having tried Amitriptyline and found little imporvement back to the GP,Now we are waiting to see the surgeon who originally did my surgery.Will be interesting to see his comments.

[admin]

Hi KPS, we wish you all the best for your visit to the surgeon. Our thoughts are with you.
Herniabible Admin

[KPS]

Latest News.I have just been to see the consultant at the Hospital and he has agreed that there is a problem.As the area down the right of my groin is swollen and puffy! and there is still discomfort & pain there as well as around the scar.So i am now waiting to have the groin & the scar scanned to try and see what the problem is.Will update when i have had tihs done, it's only taken 6 month's to get this far !!!!!!!!!!

[admin]

We want to get the warning out to as many people as possible, and your postings will really help. In a few years the meshes will probably be banned, as the United States FDA is gathering a lot of evidence against them.
Herniabible Admin

[KPS]

Hi Everyone, Latest update have just been for my ultrasound scan and after a few gentle hint's the DR said he could not really see that much amiss.Althiugh i will have to wait to see the surgeon again to get the full report.The DR performing the scan said that he had seen lot's of uy's with similar problems after Hernia surgery and he openly said that he is concerned with the way that surgeons cut through nerves and muscle to perform the surgery without any concern for the after effects.I would be interested to know when any of you guy's had open surgery as to which way the surgeon made the incision either vertical or horizontal mine was horizontal and has obviously cut through a lot of muscle and nerve, let me know please and any other side effects you have sufferd as well.


Note from Herniabible
If you have had inguinal hernia surgery more than a year ago, please consider completing our brief online survey to report any long-term complications
http://surveys.polldaddy.com/s/77FBF0D4B2748423/

[KPS]

Hi Guy's & Girls, Just been to see my Consultant and apparently my ultrasound of my hernia repair looks fine.!!!! Ah i said so what about all this pain and numbness i am still experiencing.Now he said it 's probably a nerve thing Oh really i said theres a thing.He then proceeded to tell me that one in five hundred people suffer constant pain and discomfort after surgery, why didn't you tell me this before i had the surgery.Perhaps the mesh or stiching has trapped a nerve he replied, ah medically incompetent surgon then i replied from then on things became a bit tense as his defences came up, so i now await an appointment with the pain clinic to see what they can try and fob me off with.Thing is i am not going away untill i am satisfied with some resolution to my problem let's all keep pestering our Hospital and making a nuisance of ourselves.

[admin]

Have you thought of contacting one of the "no win no fee" personal injury law firms? E.g. www.injurylawyers4u.co.uk, www.personalinjury.ffw.com. If they think they can prove your doctors were negligent, you might be able to get your case to court.

The term personal injury doesn't just apply to being hit by a car etc. It is any kind of injury to your person, whatever the cause, including surgery. It is hard to prove negligence but a good first step would be to get hold of your medical records, to which you are entitled, as these will form part of the evidence. If you're not sure how, services such as the Citizens Advice Bureau can help.

Wishing you well, and please do keep us posted.
Herniabible Staff

[KPS]

Hi everyone,Guess it's about time i brought you up to speed on events.I was referred to the pain management clinic at another local hospital, i had my first appointment in October 09.The pain Consultant examined me and was very knowledgeable on the subject of post hernia operation pain,he has studied this for some time and has come to the conclusion that it usally eminates from damage or trapping of the Inguinal nerve during surgery.He suggested i try an injection of Chirocaine & Depomedone which i did he commented that the trigger point for the pain was very deep.??,this injection proceeded to make the pain worse over the next few days before it subsided back to it's normal levels.He also suggested that i try some diffrent drugs to see if they would work as he has had good results from these beforeThese were Pregabalin,Gabapentin,Duloxetine . I tried all three of these with no improvement and be warned these have major side effects as they are designed to deal with Epilepsy and similar conditions these are liveable side effects if you do not work or want to think straight all the time, so be warned look them up on www.rxlist.com an excellent American website more info than any UK one.Apparently when a nerve is damaged during surgery it remembers this and continues to send pain signals after the trauma has healed and there lies the problem we think.I am now waiting to try an Inguinal Nerve block to see if this stops the pain ,and if so we will know that this is definetly the problem as there could be other nerves in the area that give the same signals.In the future we may try pulsedradio frequency treatment.Will keep you updated as and when things happen.PS if you have a Hernia think very carefully before surgery unless you want to kiss your previous life goodbye.!!!!!! I am Happy to talk to anyone who has doubts about surgery they have had if i can help.

[KPS]

Just had my diagnostic Inguinal block,lets see what this does then.? if anyones interested i have found an excellent paper on the subject of Nerve pain after hernia surgery i will be happy to e mail a copy if you mail me.