Doctors cannot diagnose a strange bulge I have... anyone recognize this?

A few months ago, I began having a problem in that periodically I get a bulge to the lower left of my BB / upper left of my groin when that area is under stress, say from when I am flexed and pulling on jeans, coughing, ****** It feels like a muscle bulge and muscle contraction at the same time. It is painful and then as the area relaxes it disappears.

I thought it was a hernia but had it checked by a few doctors/surgeons and even a CT Scan and I do not have a hernia (plus I already have had muscle repair/tummy tuck so a hernia would be unlikely I am told). Dr. Capella (my PS) said maybe it is scar tissue. I don't understand that.

Has anyone experienced anything like this, either after plastics or WLS or ideopathic?

Thanks.

Interesting. Sometimes I have a bulge in my lower belly area, but I attribute mine to food going through my intestines. I have a small pea-sized lump under my skin that my bariatric surgeon said was scar tissue from my RNY but it is always there. My plastic surgeon was supposed to remove it during my lbl but forgot. He said he will remove it when I have more work done.

Mine looks and feels like a muscle pulling. It causes me to double over. Then it goes away and there dis no sign of it. It is truly frustrating to be looked at by a bunch of doctors and none of them know what it is. 

Perhaps you can massage that scar tissue away?

The scar tissue has been there 6 years. There is no massaging it away. It does not bother me, but I can clearly see it under my skin. It's just weird. My PS said he will go in through my lbl scarline and grab it to remove it (so that I do not have an additional scar). when I get around to doing more work, I will make sure he does it.

From what I understand certain types of hernias can go in and out. Perhaps that's why you only feel it sometimes.

I too have a bulge on the lower left quadrant of my abdomen. I did not get thru testing yet, but think it is hernia. It gets bigger/bulges out more during stress.

Not sure what kind of scar tissue it would be in your case?   I would guess that scar tissue would not change in size under stress.

BTW what kind of testing did you go thru to determine that it is not hernia? I'm likely to need to go thru those as well.

That is what I thought, too, that certain hernias go in and out. And I agree with you on the scar tissue. I had a physical examination by my PCP and he told me to see a general surgeon. My plastic surgeon used to be a general surgeon so I asked him to examine me but he forgot to do so as we were more focused on the plastic surgery. Subsequent to that I had a CT scan of my abdomen for something unrelated and that did not show a hernia. I should probably get those images sent to my PS. Just in case the person reading them was not looking for a hernia (although I cannot imagine it not being reported or missed). 

To clarify only SOME hernias go in and out. Others are "stuck" and do not go in, but may not give you any issues. Then there is a case when the blood supply may be impacted. In that case you would have severe pain and you should go to ER since this is considered a surgical emergency. You only have 6 hours until the tissue starts to die off.

In my case my hernia (if that is what it is) does not go in and out. But it has been there for a while (1-2 years at least).

When I lie down i can't seem to "find" it, but when i stand up I can always feel it, and now that I am down 70 pounds can actually see a bulge.  Will need to discuss it with my bariatric surgeon who I hope to see in the next month or so.

Would you happen to know that if I have the type of a hernia that goes in and out and the CT scan was taken while it was "in" would the CT scan pick up the hernia?

Hernia exams by a surgeon are done standing and laying/lying down and asking us to cough.
Even small hernias can be diagnosed this way.
However a hernia can be also diagnosed by YS abdomen soft tissues or CT. There various types of CT and depending on how the paperwork is requested is the type of CT.
I have has povh (post operative vertical hernia) also known as incisional hernia after Open surgery for weight-loss ring in 1992 before laparoscopy was done in Israel.
During my TT I had hernia in my cesarean. And I has femoral hernia which is very difficult to diagnose in women.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/health/17brody.html?_r=0
Mikimi in Israel

How were yours diagnosed?