Hernia

I have been a lurker for about 2 years.  I have Roux-en-y back in Nov 2005.  I started at about 385 and I'm sitting at about 195 know.  Problem is about 2 months ago noticed a bulge in my stomach and I ignored it, well yesterday there was so much pain I went to my Primary Doc and found out I have a Incisional hernia.  Can anyone who has gone through this give me some kind of idea what I'm in for?  The doc said surgury was an option but some people just live with it? WTF? 

Hey lurker, join the club.  I had multiple hernia surgerys prior to my WLS surgery in 4/16.  When I had my bypass, a hernia was fixed at the same time.  They were all due to my weight.  Well, 13 months later I am down 240 pounds (432 pounds 2 weeks pre-op, 188 pounds today), and I have developed a doozy of a hernia.  I'm having surgery next Friday to repair it, hopefully this will be the last one.  My surgeon thinks they may be able to do it laproscopically, but they wont know until they get in.  They may have to open me up due to all the past surgeries I've had.  I'm hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.  Anyway, my personal advice,  it will probably only get worse as time goes on.  I would probably opt for surgery if it is feasible for you.  You dont want to end up in the ER with a strangulated hernia like I did during one of my episodes.  The worst thing on earth is to have a tube stuck down your nose to pump your stomach so you can have emergency surgery in the middle of the night, and that ends up becoming a patch job.  Better to plan ahead, find a good surgeon and go from there. Sorry for the grim outlook, but you asked.  Others may have different opinions.  Good luck. John

There’s a number of guys here who have gone through similar. Hope you get some good info…. On the Plus side? If you have some loose skin resulting from your weight loss, this may be an opportunity to get an abdomiplasty or panniculectomy thrown in on the insurance’s bill. Some have. Regardless, if a hernia is small and not causing pain, it is possible to go awhile without surgery and not be bothered much. On the other hand, the hernia will not go away without surgical treatment; it will only get bigger. The bigger the defect the bigger the operation required to fix it. Delayed hernia repair CAN result in intestinal incarceration (intestine is trapped inside the hernia sac) or strangulation (intestine is trapped and develops gangrene). The "strangulated" hernia is a surgical emergency. Some serious business. Wish there was better news to pass on… Maybe balance out the ‘downer’ of it all with some Plastic Surgery? I resisted having PS for over a year, but I’m so happy I had it done. Welcome to the Men’s Forum. Congratulations on losing the weight. Best Wishes- Dx

I am just back to work after having an incisional hernia repaired on April 26th. I had the problem when I went in for the gastric bypass last year. The surgeon had repaired the hernia at that time with stitches. A couple of months after the bypass, I noticed that the bulge was starting to reappear around my navel again. It was more or less in the same place where it was before. I kept an eye on it while I lost weight and by the time I went in for surgery 3 weeks ago, it had gone from lemon sized to grapefruit sized. This time my doc opened me up, cleared away some of the scar tissue, restitched my abdominal muscles, put in mesh to reinforce the weak area and closed me up. He was happy to report that the defect was smaller than he anticipated, but did say that bowel was sliding in and out of the hole so this could have turned into an emergency at any time. I agree with John that it is probably wise to get it repaired in a non-emergency situation with a surgeon that is familiar with your case. The doctor that did my bypass also repaired my hernia. I was out of the OR in 90 minutes and off the vent before I even woke up. Spent one night in the hospital and was sent home the next day. I was sore for the first week, but the recovery was very quick compared to my roux en y the year before. Best of luck to you. Patrick PS - I just realized that today is my 1-year anniversary date    235 pounds down