already “symptomatic”=experiencing pain–then u may have no choice but to do surgery–20% chance of severe chronic pain seems high to me but that means 80% are pain free–so u decide. If your chances of strangulation are low–like 5-10-15%–then u may want to wait.
What patients suffering from mesh pain have to say
The medical literature unequivocally says that 20% of patients who have mesh implanted for hernia repair develop chronic pain. But that is just a statistic. We have compiled some comments made by patients suffering from mesh pain to put it in human terms. We have only redacted private information.
I had bi-lateral inguinal hernia surgery in August of 2010. I still suffer from constant pain and discomfort which limits my ability to work full time and participate in my life as I once did. I am looking for any information that could help me regain some control of the chronic pain I am in without haveing to rely on pain medication or other temporary fixes. Thanks for your time.
hernia surgery 13 mo ago still have pain and swelling
After a long walk on the beach, and a bike ride it gets inteince, sharp pulling burning pain, with some swelling. Lower abdomanl pain and blouting, sex and social life shot down. had a Inguinal Hernia repaird sept.2009, had my ups and downs with it but was able to work and exercis, i had reinjurd August 2010 was told i had a ingunal sprain or tear. and had nothing but pain since. Had three CT scans done and nothing shows. have seen many doctors and many pain pills, 1 scrip Tramadol 50mg, 1 scrip Naproxen 375mg, 2 scrip Naproxen 550mg, 1 scrip of Dycyclomine 20mg,1 scrip Tramadol/apap 37.5/325mg, Cirofloxacin 500mg. only one Doctor has said i need collanoscopy to see what is going on, trying to follow up with that. The mesh was a light waght mesh. Both incadeince were work related. Long storie, now its all on me. can you help?
The report from the Danish Hernia Data Base group 4 suggests that in current practice, the incidence of chronic pain 1 year after groin hernia repair may be approximately 29%. That number is unexpectedly high, and certainly will gain the attention of all surgeons who repair hernias. It is important to know if the incidence is truly so high and, if so, to learn what causes the pain. If the incidence truly exceeds 1 percent, then pain will need to be specifically mentioned in preoperative discussions with patients.
The Danish report is based on two questionnaires mailed 1 year postoperatively to 1,443 patients having a hernia repair during a 2 month period in 1998. More than 80% of patients responded to each questionnaire. The first time around, patients were asked whether or not they had pain; 29% said they had pain, and 11% indicated that their pain was disabling to some degree. The second questionnaire was sent to those reporting pain, asking about specific pain characteristics; 58% of those experiencing pain now indicated that their pain impaired specific activities. There was no correlation of postoperative pain with the type of hernia or the method used for repair.