I had open Inguinal Hernia surgery with mesh done last Thursday. Most of the bruising and swelling has went away besides where the incision was made. It is a hard lump right underneath the incision that sticks out pretty far. My hernia had no lump, so I'm not familiar with what a lump from an inguinal hernia looks like, but I'm assuming it looks like this without the hard feeling. Is this normal nine days after the surgery? I can't talk to the doctor until Monday and it's kind of freaking me out. I have been feeling better day by day, and have been icing it daily, so it just seems weird to have this much swelling right there.
Thanks.
That's the internal scar. It'll feel like a finger buried inside of you, and it'll get smaller over the years. In about three months most of the scar tissue will have formed, and hopefully it won't constrict a nerve. (like it did with me). I think it takes about 6 mos. for the mesh to be fully grown in with tissue.
How do I know if it's like fluid built up or something? I see people talking about having fluid drained out of them after a surgery. I didn't even really notice it until today (9 days after surgery) because the rest of the area was pretty swollen. It's not painful or anything, just a hard bulge. Thanks for the reply. I don't see the surgeon until Wednesday and don't want to stress on it until then.
Hi. I didn't have a lump under the scar but a hard area near the scar which has receded a bit. I wonder whether mine is a 'staple' for the mesh. There doesn't appear to be any standard way of doing mesh ops so anything is possible.
I have the same swelling as you describe. The doctor told just to wait a couple of months and I've also noticed that it is reducing over time. That is probably just the internal scar/swelling that needs time to reabsorb.
Does it hurt at all? How long ago did you have the surgery? Mines still a little painful but not bad. I'm super active and want to get back into exercising.
It does not hurt now, but I've had my surgery two months ago. I think it is quite early for you to have all pain be gone, so I'd not worry for now and give it more time. As for exercising, don't rush with it.
Alright thanks for your reply!
HeyChristophe
It's been awhile since your hernia. Did the hard lump ever return to normal? Your situation sounds exactly like mine as there was no major lump pre surgery . But 10days post op there is a huge hard lump just beneath the incision.
It did go back to normal after a few weeks. It’s just the scar tissue underneath. Some people take longer to heal than others. I’ve had no issues with mine since it went back down.
Thanks. Glad it hear you have no issues. I too am very active and really want to get back to my full workouts. However, Its been 17 days now and no change in the lump and hardness beneath the incision. Do you think it may be too early to be scar tissue? I'm thinking a suture granuloma. Hope to see the surgeon this week.
I went and saw my surgeon about 12 days after my surgery and he said it was normal. I was running again a few weeks later and then doing most other workouts about a month later. It still hurt for about a month when I jumped (I play a lot of basketball) but that eventually went away. I just slowly started doing more and more. I started on the treadmill going at a pace that wasn’t too uncomfortable and kept speeding it up day by day until I could run at full speed again. I bet you’re okay. It’s a foreign object that your body is trying to get used to. Look at the comments above. Someone said it could take 6 months for the mesh to grow with the tissue around. Your body is trying to accept the mesh. Obviously I don’t know your situation exactly, I just know I stressed on it for like 2-3 weeks until I just bit the bullet and hopped on the treadmill. Try to not think he worst. That’s what I did and obsessed about nothing. Good luck.
Hey Christophe,
Glad to hear you are doing well. Has my bilateral hernia repair on the 8th of March - traditional incision- been walking a lot more. The side that the bulge was larger seems to be more swollen today that a few days ago. I also feel that hardeness where the incision was . Based on reading all the feedback, everything is normal. So my big question to you.... you mentioned running - I’ve been a runner most of my life.
1. What did you feel in the repaired area after your run?
2. How many weeks after surgery did you wait before you actually ran ?
3. How many miles was the first run and did you add more every other day or week?
Thanks for your feedback
1. The pain was sharp when I first started. I would have to slow down at times. It’s like the same pain you have after the surgery, just not as strong. Probably similar to the pain you’re feeling now with walking. It definitely gets better though.
2. I don’t remember exactly how long. I believe I started after two weeks. Maybe 16-17 days after on the treadmill.
3. Do you run on the treadmill, outside, or both? If you do run on the treadmill, I started at 5 MPH, and would gradually go up until it was too painful to run. My first run was probably 1.5 miles, and then I was really just staying around 1.5-2 miles the first few weeks and upping the speed. After I was back up to 8 MPH and above, I started longer runs. I also play basketball at the gym though, so I was trying to work that back into my routine too. I didn’t lift at all for a few months though. I was scared to. I started running outside again after about a month. You’ll probably feel pain still then, but it should be bearable. Just listen to your body. You might run longer runs sooner than I did.
Thanks so much this has all very so helpful and has put my mind at rest. I had open inguinal hernia repair surgery 9 days ago and am experiencing the same thing. The swelling had all gone down and I’m left with a hard lump the length of the scar which is much more obtrusive than the lump I had from the hernia. Good to know yours went down after a few weeks - I think I’m just expecting to be able to run before I can walk and just need to give it more time to heal!
Hi sandy I had inguinal hernia surgery 8 days back and in the groin there is hard lump, it is like a stick. And one personal thing is I am not able yo masturbate will this be a problem please let me know?
Hello. On May 15, 2018 I had a Ventral Hernia laprascopic surgery done, I now have hard know where the hernia once was that is tender and sore most times. This has me worried because in June I went to see the surgeon regarding this, she assumed it was fluids so she numbed me and tried to drain it but nothing but blood came out. So she sent me for a ct scan, days later she called stating there is no hernia, and that it looks like it's just scar tissue with a very small amount of fluid and asked me to give it a few weeks to see if the lump goes completely away. I gave it over a month, went to see her yesterday and she has scheduled me for surgery for 7/27/18. Should I be concerned? She didn't seem too sure of what is going on, she kept saying it looks like it's scar tissue. I'm just scared something will go wrong. I attempted to call another surgeon today for a second opinion but was told he couldn't see me because I'm still within the 90 day global period of having my surgery done. Can someone please help ease my mind or help point me in the right direction.
Christopher,
I just had an inguinal hernia repair two weeks ago although mine was laparoscopic. The first four days everything was painful but progressing nicely and then somewhere between the fifth and sixth day I develop that very hard lump about the size of an olive or half a finger in the area where the hernia was repaired. Reading your post has made me feel better after having serious concerns. Now that it’s been a couple years for you has your hard lump completely gone away or is it still there somewhat? Thank you much for your previous post and for any information you can provide. Regards, John
hello Wendy, I’m curious What ended up happening and how your follow up surgery went? I have the same hard lump but hopefully mine will go away. John
Hello Juan. I followed through with the surgery and the hard lump has been removed. I still experience pain in that area from time to time but not as bad as it was before. Hope this helps.