Hernia Surgery Question

[aaa]

How comfortable would you be having hernia surgery done (by a surgeon other than your DS surgeon)?

The backstory: something's been going on for a few years & finally in November 2014 my gastro. said I probably have 2 hernias (where the incisions for my DS and subsequent gallbladder surgery were made). They've been getting worse as time goes by and he told me if one or both pop out and won't be pushed back in (and the pain won't go away) I have less than 6 hours to get to the hospital for them to be fixed. (So far I'm able to push them back in and end the pain). My issue is I now live about 45-60 mins. from my DS surgeon. He did my gallbladder 3 years after my DS and I'd like him to do the hernias, too, should it become necessary. (I'm uneasy about someone operating on my abdomen who doesn't know what it looks like now). I have a small bag packed (just in case I have to leave quickly) and figure I can take some Vicodin and a car service to my DS surgeon.

Thoughts?

 

[DianaCox]

I wouldn't worry much about a non-DS surgeon doing incisional hernia surgery - unless you are talking about INTERNAL hernias (intestine getting trapped in holes in the mesentary), the muscle and facia repair does not really involve the intestines. Also, if you have hernias that are causing pain but are not current emergencies, I would suggest that this might be a very good excuse to get both the hernia repair and some reconstructive surgery at the same time, and possibly have BOTH fully covered - you could find a good reconstructive surgeon to submit for the hernia repair, and have him/her document that doing an abdominoplasty at the same time would help prevent the chance for recurrence, especially if you also have an umbilical hernia (or the surgeon could argue that you do).

My husband had an umbilical hernia as well as diastasis recti (his was congenital, but many of us have this from pregnancy and/or central obesity), and got him an abdominoplasty that way.

 

[aaa]

Well the gastro. said I only have 6 hours to have them fixed b/c my organs could begin to die. So I wonder if they are internal hernias even though they seem to be at old scar sights.

 

[DianaCox]

No, if they are at the scar sites, they are incisional hernias. The reason you would need surgery right away is that the loop of intestine that gets caught in the hernia dies from lack of blood/oxygen, and goes septic.

 

[aaa]

Great, thanks.

 

[mistory5]

Boy I wished I had of listened to my primary and had hernia that I could push in ASAP! 2 weeks later it got incarcerated why I was at work. I literally thought I was dying. Ambulance took me to nearest hospital(ds surgeon hospital 2 hrs away) it was terrible they didn't know what to do but give me a colostomy bag. I insisted they call ds surgeon. He told them to get me there Asap and he would take care of it. Well they were not going to get me there. Thx God someone from the job stopped in to check on me and when she heard what was going on she took me to nyc on the spot. My ds surgeon cut out the necrotic intestine and got me together. No colostomy. My advice go to ds surgeon and do it asap don't keep thinking pushing it in will work forever. I know been there done that. Good luck

 

[aaa]

Yeah, my DS surgeon suggested I come and see him. The problem is the hernias aren't pushed out all the time. Mostly when I 'go' (the left abdomen) and bend (the right and left abdomen). So the gastro. said they couldn't really do a CT and 'see' them till they were ready to be removed. My annual appt. w/my DS surgeon is July. I'm hopeful I can wait till then.

BTW, I see you're a Gagner patient. Me, too. Both Gagner & Pomp did my DS and Pomp did my gallbladder. I hope to have him do the hernia(s). What blows my mind is that I could get these hernias almost 10 years out from my DS! I had no idea what they were at first b/c I thought I was so far past the point I could get them. Most DSers I know had them in the first few years, postop.

 

[Larra]

Why do they need to do a CT scan? It sounds like your hernia(s) have been diagnosed already. Most incisional hernias are easily diagnosed based on your physical exam and the fact that they can be pushed back in. You can't push in a tumor!
Get them fixed before they get incarcerated (stuck) and turn into an emergency.

 

[aaa]

The gastro. said to specifically find them they'd want a CT. We can't be 100% sure where they are b/c they're never visible when I go to the dr. He thinks they're at the incision sites but my incisions are very hard to see. That's why he feels a CT is a good idea.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I had my incisional hernia repaired by a guy who specializes in hernia repairs.

 

[Jbandmmomma]

I just went through symptoms, diagnosis, and surgical repair of an internal hernia. All within less than 20 hours. This sort of thing is truly an emergent situation and should be treated as such. I only delayed going to the ER long enough to make sure my kids had adequate care and that the pain was truly not relenting. By the time they got me into the OR I was vomiting intestine contents up. There was no other option but surgical intervention. Don't ignore this sort of pain.

 

[buffalobillsfan]

I had an incisional hernia repair done by a general surgeon. I went back to work early which includes heavy lifting. I regret that because when I had a small bowel obstruction that included an internal hernia (caused bowels to twist when it slipped into it), they found my other hernia mesh in a ball in my stomach. I had the 2nd surgery done by my DS surgeon because it was a SBO.
Normal hernia repairs I would have done by a good surgeon (lap if you can). Anything that involves an open surgery or the intestines would be ideal to have done by a DS doctor. That's my opinion. Either way, give yourself time to heal. I thought because my hernia repair took 20 minutes and had a tiny scar that I could quickly resume my normal life. Plus, I didn't want my employer to see me as a burden because I was on limited duty.

 

[aaa]

Thanks for the opinions. I appreciate the input.

I don't want to go till I have to. [Right now I can push them back in & the pain goes.] I guess it'll just depend on how much pain I'm in whether I take a car service to my bariatric surgeon or not.