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Dear Ask The Doctor: I had a traditional bilateral inguinal hernia repair 5 weeks ago. I have experienced intense impingement pain and swelling on the right side since. I went to follow up with the surgeon a week ago, and explained my pain. Upon examination, he said the work was solid as a rock. He seemed unconcerned, said that it was scar tissue, and instructed me to keep massaging the testicle back down, as it was riding up high, and that it(scar tissue, and pain) would go away. I was instructed to take acetominofen and ibuprofen for pain. The pain is still as intense as ever, and I can barely walk or lift anything without great discomfort. The left side is healing so nicely, that it doesn't seem normal that tension on the right would still be this excruciatingly painful. The pain is spreading up the right side of my back. Urinary and bowel function seem normal. Prior to surgery, the surgeon boasted of his mastery of the classic techniques, and would not do a mesh inguinal repair. He said that in 17 years, he'd had only one reaccurance. He is a resident at the local hospital, and I'm sure he does several a week. Considering some horror stories that I have read on post op complications, I am wondering if I should go see someone else. I don't want to insult him, but It seems like I should be moving and feeling a lot better by now. I need to get on with life, and prefferably with both testicles. Could I be at risk of losing one, and is it in the norm for me to still be this handicapped 5 weeks after surgery? I am 39 yr old male in otherwise good health, and have not done anything more to irritate the work than walking, sitting, and standing.
Dear Tony: It is unusual to have pain five weeks after inguinal hernia repair. There are two conditions to be considered. Firstly, do you have an infection? This is unlikely if the wound has healed, there is no redness of the swelling and the swelling is not painful to touch. The second possibility is that a nerve could have been trapped in the repair. There is no test that will confirm this diagnosis. There are medications that can help alleviate your pain and get you back to normal activity. I do not think you are in danger of losing your testicle as you would have severe testicular pain, swelling and fever 2-3 days after surgery. |
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