Thank you for providing an explanation on short term and long term recovery after hernia repair. I recently had one and was told I could return to work the next day. That was not the case at all. I was extremely upset by the fact that I was unable to and concerned at how slow I believed my recovery to be. I wish I would have seen these two videos before surgery.
Whomever told you it would be one day was a liar! 3 weeks st least, maybe a month depending on what you do. I work from home and it still took a week to return to laptop on my stomach while laying down kinda work
@@rajav4144 This guy Todd knows his stuff. Wish we could all go there to get ours done. My general surgeon never brings this stuff up. Hope if you are having surgery, good luck.
5 months here. I still have a lot of pain from umbilical hernia repair. It was incarcerated and emergency surgery. I chose laproscopic.This one was my second. My first was with gastric sleeve. Hoping the pain goes away soon. I have Lupus too, which doesn't help. Doctor didn't take time to give any instructions. Looking for another surgeon for recheck and care.
Just had the open inguinal hernia surgery by Dr. Harris, the post-op recovery estimate is optimistic. Initially it took about 10 days for the pain to become tolerable and return to some normalcy but lower level pains and discomfort continue at the 4-week mark for me and am hoping it will go away in the next 3 months or so.
JamesFeiffer, You are correct in that some patients may take longer than what we see on average. Similarly there are patients who feel back to normal after just a couple of days. On average, we try to provide estimates for our patients. We hope that you are feeling back to 100% soon. Best, CAHS
I'm in my 20th day from left open inguinal surgery and im feeling pretty good, no pain. Operation is not healed on 100% but I can run, bicycle and run on stairs without problem, i want to go back in gym but don't know if i go back now is it going to be a problem Everyone says that they have pain after a month and more, idk my recovery is like 10x forward or just my thinking :D
I'm really worried..my surgery was done on July 22nd. I'm still in pain..and have no feeling on the surface of my skin..the pubic bone on the right side where it was repaired hurts so much still
@maggiescott8152 am lucky @ 5 weeks am back to work, I had open repair surgery for inguinal hernia. There's still numbness but good enough the area feels better day by day.
I live & work in Dubai, open surgery with mesh for inguinal hernia was done on 08.07.2024. Resumed work on 16.08.2024. I work at the airport, my role incudes moderate lifting of baggage. I feel normal, no pain though psychologically i feel like i am doing a little damage inside. I thank God cuz my recovery journey has been a progressing one. First 3 weeks i couldn't walk straight up, couldn't sleep from the side. Am able to sleep, walk like before the surgery.
Sure wish I lived close enough to California to get my hernia repaired with Todd Harris and Company. Have general surgeons here, but not hernia specialist. By listening to all your videos, surgeon needs to know what he is doing. Choosing lightweight mesh and choosing laproscopic or open for examples. Thanks for your time in these videos.
I had inguinal hernia operation on both sides carried out on the 13 July this year. Only yesterday, nearly 12 weeks later, did I get back to exercise! My left side is totally fine. My right side still has discomfort, though no actual pain. I simply couldn't have exercised after 3 weeks. My gp told me some folk take longer to heal. I am over careful though, perhaps too much so.
Ed Mill, You are correct in that every patient heals differently. By the 12 week mark we would expect you to be 100% so I'm sure that you will be feeling normal on the right side shortly. Best, CAHS
Hi Ed, did they use any mesh? I had a bilateral laparoscopic inguinal hernia surgery 25 days ago and still hurts especially when I go or leave the bed. I have to put my hand on groin area, press it then stand up very slowly. I believe keyhole surgery and using mesh is rubbish and they mislead patients, I hope that I am wrong. After 25 days when I go out is better to have at least an umbrella suing it as a stick or aid. Do you have any idea, did you get better so far since you posted your comments? Thanks
Wingobingo, every surgery and every surgeon certainly has the appropriate post operative course for that situation. In medical studies, they have shown that 90% of the strength of the hernia repair is present at 3 weeks which is why we encourage our patients to return to normal activities at that time. We certainly wouldn't disagree with what feels best for you so if you've rested for 6 weeks, we hope that you're feeling back to normal.
California Hernia Specialists: Specialty Care for Hernia Repair thanks for the reply, ok am I able to lift heavy stuff or will it undo the repair after six weeks?
Most surgeons would agree that after the hernia surgery has healed, there shouldn't be any limitations on what activities a patient can perform. In our patients, we clear them for full activities including dead lifts, marathons, and any other physical events after 3 weeks.
10 months is how long it took after my open hernia surgery. Getting your stomach cut opened is not a simple thing. and Yes, I was a patient for Dr. Harris. There was no issue with the surgery itself and his technique was superb. But I think (my opinion) most surgeons underestimate the "total healing time" which is when you feel about 90%-95% normal - when your cut is not hurting when the weather changes, you can lie on your side for more than 15 min, you are no longer bloated and when you run or hike, you don't feel the core muscle hurting where the cut was made. I would have gone for laparoscopic, and not open, if I had to choose all over again. Surgery does major damage and it takes time to heal.
had an inguinal hernia laparoscopic surgery, into my second week feeling better and stronger thankful to GOD. can't wait for the4th week to get back to the gym
I’m scheduled for a double Inguinal hernias surgery. Our bedroom is on the second floor. I’m reading that one should not shower , not to clime stairs for a couple of days. Then start gradually increasing activity, like stairs … also take something for bowl movement …
First, We would always recommend that you follow your particular surgeons instructions. For patients who have surgery with us, they are able to climb stairs anytime after surgery, although we suggest that they limit their overall activity as much as possible for the first 3-4 days. Good luck in your recovery, CAHS
I had inguinal hernia surgery on June 29th 2022. I was told it could take 6 months to be fully healed due to the fact my body is producing extra fluid that helps with the healing process that brings nutrients and cells that help tissues repair themselves which creates swelling. Your thoughts Doctor ?
Douglas, We have several videos on this channel and webpages on our site which provide more details, but we usually allow our patients to return to normal activities at the 3 week mark. Best, CAHS
Fragrance, Numbness can continue for an extended time, especially if the nerves in the area of the hernia needed to be cut. Ongoing pain at the 3 month mark is less common but hopefully will resolve for you soon. Thank you for sharing, CAHS
although i've had a hiatal hernia for 25 years (diagnosed when i was a powerlifter), and it has begun to cause pain and protrude much more, i will not get this surgery. recovery sounds like a nightmare.
Reading these comments makes me sad. I had open inguinal hernia repair 10 days ago, I had some pain that night as the drugs wore off but that was it, haven't had any pain at all whatsoever since, I'm even walking 3 miles a day. The day after surgery I did a regimen of Tylenol and Advil and haven't had to take any since that day.
What is the long term recovery look like for someone who is still getting bulging in the area and pain after a few months? I don't feel any mass there like before, but do I have a hernia still? Or how long does it actually take? Thanks Dr.
@@CaliforniaHerniaSpecialists Yes, but should I still be getting bulging after the 4 weeks? As it gets really swollen and hurts and I don't know if I should be worried or not. Thanks again Dr☺️
As I have already worked on this Monday it is after 18 days from my surgery for 12 hours shift and I have a pain and heaviness at surgery spot so I have consulted to my surgeon and they have said it is normal. Further they said if you wish to continue with the work like this then you may continue with it, it is not the thing to afraid and if you wish to take rest then you may take rest so I have decided to take rest for more 6 days and then I will continue back to my work. This will be ok sir. Reply to this will be much appreciated.
Hi Dr. Harris, it's been 3 days from surgery. hope you have time for this question. pain during every movement like stand up, walking is normal ? by looking at your enlightenment it looked to me that my recovery time is slower than normal. appreciate your help on hernia you gave us
Akin Aksoy, At the 3 day mark, pain with activities is completely normal and often expected. Some patients may take a week to 10 days to feel closer to normal, while some will feel better in a matter of 1-2 days. Best, CAHS
JR, Each patient may have reasons to prefer lap vs open so we don't make blanket statements on which approach is 'better'. Laparoscopic surgery tends to have less pain and an easier recovery so patients who qualify might benefit from the lap approach. Best, CAHS
@@CaliforniaHerniaSpecialists Thank you for your video and taking the time to answer questions. It's a huge help. Hopefully I'll qualify for laparoscopic. Cheers.
Hi todd thanks for the vidios.I had openright inguinal mesh repair 3 weeks ago.can i do slow laps in pool now.Allso just do some very light push ups.Have been doing these two exercise for years.
Thank you 4 informative video. I am having surgery wed 12/20/17. I have stage 4 very large hiatal hernia. I have volvulus and weak diaphragm. I have 2 have 2week liquid diet. Any tips on what I should drink?
There are 1000's of different types of mesh which are used for 100's of different surgeries. The mesh that we use for abdominal wall hernias is extremely safe with almost no extreme complication risk.
How many'safe' meshes are there? None! Made of polyprophylene, is not inert and shrinks...people have terrible backpains, bloating, get immun trouble and get invalid...like THEm, there are thousands....would you let Your wife, Your child, Your mum have a mesh implant, knowing the riscs? IT is playing russian roulette...
Anketosi, I'm sorry to hear that you or someone in your family has had a bad experience with hernia mesh. That is certainly the exception to the rule as we see in our practice. I would encourage patients to do their research and decide for themselves, but yes, I would recommend a mesh repair to friends and family. We wish you the best in your outcome, CAHS
California Hernia Specialists: Specialty Care for Hernia Repair how soon should the incision wound completely heal? 3 weeks ,wound has healed to skin over. Stitches on inside , do they dissolve?
Thank you for your comments. There are times that patients develop chronic pain after any surgery including hernia repair. Sometimes a pain specialist can help pinpoint if/which nerves could be affected and provide long term relief with injections and other treatments.
I'm sorry but it totally depends on how bad the hernia is. I know you are a physician but I've had 2 hernia repairs and a revision done. I'm 4 weeks post op and I can't even go back light duty yet. Maybe in a week and he may release me in 3 weeks for full duty. But I had a bad situation with mine so that may be why my recovery time is so long. All my insides had shifted to the left so it was a mess. The hernia recovery time should be per patient situation.
Brenda Lindsay, You are correct in that patients who have more complicated situations may need additional time to recovery. Our recovery recommendations are generalized for most patients but as you mention there are exceptions per the patient's situation. All the best in your recovery, CAHS
Tal Shtuhl, Most patients follow the same path for long term recovery after both open and laparoscopic hernia repairs. We find that open hernia patients have more pain and discomfort for the first few days, but by day 3-4 both open and laparoscopic patients are at about the same place in their recovery process. Best, CAHS
Joel, Some patients have symptoms for weeks after any surgery, including hernia surgery. We would hope that as each week passes, that your symptoms are getting better. Some patients will feel occasional pain and/or burning in the area of months to a year but usually this discomfort is not limiting. Good luck, CAHS
California Hernia Specialists: Specialty Care for Hernia Repair well i have 1 month and one week already and feel way better since u replied back may I as you a question?? Here it goes I have a bad flu and sneezing a whole bunch im scared because it haves only been 1 month and a week is there any possibilities that my surgery might re open or fail due to constant sneezing? it really hurts feels bruised when i sneeze And how would I know if my hernia mesh or surgery reopens and or fails?
Its been 5 months since my small umbelical tear has been repaired without mesh. Recently I decided to do a light jog but afterwards I felt some burning and a dull pain feeling in that area but nothing extreme. Curious to know if that's normal.
Sultan, After 5 months patients should be completely healed from their hernia surgery. Any pains at that point would more likely be muscle strains and not a recurrence of the hernia. Good luck, CAHS
@@CaliforniaHerniaSpecialists I was told that it could take 6 months because there are fluids in the body that could cause inflammation from the surgery .
Dr Harris i had right and left side hernia operation July 2016 Month. still slightly pain is there. my question is whether the hernia may come later days in some other places. please doctor suggest me on this.. thank you in advance.. thanks a lot for your informative information..
Theyuha, we allow our patients to return to full activities after 3 weeks of recovery. At the 4 month mark, all of our patients are back to 100% of their lifting and heavy activity requirements.
I felt a little pain in my hip after splitting some firewood but it is better now. I should maybe lay off the splitting for a while? Thank you for the reply.
One more question dr. Todd, after 6 month of open inguinal hernia surgery with mesh do we able to live our life normal such as enjoying adventure rides, rides of various water park or it is risky. Please dr. answer to my these two questions ( one I had asked preciously) as I had completed 3 weeks of my inguinal hernia open surgery with mesh.
I recieved an open surgical repair to my abdominal regoin above the navel about four months ago. I have a lot of swelling in that area. It is not painful. How long should I expect this condition to contunue? Thank you.
Thank you for this video.. I had Inguinal hernia. Put mesh through laparoscopic surgery three months back. I was feeling normal in few days. no pain and dint took pain killer medicines also.... My doctor cleared to do excercises after 2 months... So I started abdominal excercises like crunches, planks, yoga etc. Today 3 months over after surgery and continued excercises... But little pain started at mesh area and also below mesh area..... Is it normal or any damage started around tissue?
Nirav, Having some discomfort when returning to exercise and activity is very normal. With time, most patients return to 100% without any limitations or pains. All the best, CAHS
My father had inguinal hernia surgery with prolene mesh 1.5 years ago..but now my father feels lots of pain..feel some thing clot on the surgery area..the pain spread lower abodeen to thai..what i have to do..pls suggest..is it normal?or its need emergency..pls rply i'm so worried
Sudipta, as we responded earlier, this is something that should be addressed by a doctor or surgeon in your area and not something that we can help with on RU-vid. All the best to your father, CAHS
Sir I had done my right side inguinal hernia surgery by open surgery method on 25/09/19 almost three and half week but still my wound is not healing,after five days of surgery pus drained from my incision site n I approached to my surgeon he said it's a clear liquid n prescribe me antibiotics but still wound is not heal n now my surgeon is not responding correctly plz guide me what to do next plz reply sir I very scared about my condition.
Hassan Ali Syed, In cases where patients are concerned about a wound infection, we would always recommend seeing your surgeon so he or she can advise on the next steps. Good luck, CAHS
Been 3 weeks, incision not completely healed. Irritating as that area rubs against my pants, loose fitting. My mind and and body still haven't accepted this foreign mesh in my body.
Larry Wheels, I would expect that the sensitivity around the incision will improve quickly day after day. The mesh that you have is very common and safe so worries should be minimal. Good luck, CAHS
California Hernia Specialists: Specialty Care for Hernia Repair thanks for responding. Yes , each day , more healing has occurred. I'm still babying myself , I'm exercising very lightly.
hello good morning doctor harris I have a question I have been done operation last September 28,2016 but why I have a headache always when I take a paracetamol it will be come a normal temperature I have infection or what? I hope doctor you can give me a suggestion thank you.
@@CaliforniaHerniaSpecialists God bless u in Jesus name🙏🙏🙏 Really I'm so appreciated ur vedio..my nervous gone to watching and read some comment and u give nice advice..I have hernia operation already done now.can I asked something doc why my doctor not give antibiotics only paracetamol and Nexium..I'm thankful also my surgeon because i feel small good but still pain.hope everything is fine..ur a good doctor also and nice to the patient..thank u for replying me..
Hello Todd S. Harris, April 2, 2015 This is Steffine Gomez , Deaf. I went in the St'sMary Hospital in last about fifteen year in Arizona. I would like to read the messages. I do walks a lot and go to the Club Horzi -on in North Carolina now. I would like to read the messages and videoes. Steffine Gomez
Steffine Gomez I read the messages I means that I was in St' Mary Hospital for appendixance and got hernia in fifteen years ago in Arizona. Pretty soon I get the ipad in special ipad . I will call you with Sorenson and will talk better. Steffine Gomez
How about open incision, not laprascopic. Open Incision is far more involved and time consuming, 4 weeks is Bull! More like 8-10 weeks in most cases. Steve
SMW771510, Thank you for your input. It sounds like in your case or in your practice it might take longer to heal. In all of our patients, routine open inguinal and umbilical hernia repairs are fully healed after 3 weeks. You are correct, in patients who have large complicated ventral hernias repaired via the open technique may take closer to your states 8-10 weeks. Thank you, CAHS
Bee, We're sorry to hear that you are still having pain after one month. There are certainly patients who fall outside of the expected 1-3 weeks of recovery. Fortunately, almost all of those patients still go on to have a normal recovery with no ongoing pains. All the best, CAHS
Um...do not lift anything over 20 pounds after 3 weeks. That's insane advice, wait 6 to 8 weeks. People, you dont want to undo the surgery you just had, take it slow
Trevor Evansyoung, You're right, every surgeon and patient needs to follow their own recovery path. We've found that for our patients 3 weeks is adequate to return to activities. Medical studies have shown that the strength of the underlying tissues and muscles is back to over 90% at 3 weeks which is why we find that to be a good time frame. All the best in your recovery, CAHS
@@CaliforniaHerniaSpecialists I am at 8 weeks out. It's a little better every week, but I am not back to normal at all. I can take out the trash, very carefully. I can drive but getting in and out of the car is painful. Some days I wake up and feel pain, but some days its ok. I was not the most in shape person before surgery for inguinal and I had lacroscopic. Still pains and discomfort. I'm going to give it another month, but that will make 3 months, I sure hope I am back to normal then
