Post hernia repair questions

"P T" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

On Tuesday I had a right direct inguinal hernia same day surgery (mesh; MAC; not laproscopic.) I
applied an ice pack as directed, over my clothing. The following day the shaft of my penis started
turning purple & puffy :-O I thought I had caused frostbite, although my penis never felt icy
cold. On Thursday I removed the dressing as directed and saw quite a bit of black and blue
discoloration in the right mons pubis and scrotum. I phoned the clinic and was told this is not
unusual, and the penile appearance also was not unexpected. They said as long as it doesn't get
worse I'm okay. (Afterward, I wondered what worse meant.)

Today my penis looks more normal but my scrotum is still purple and feels full; the testicles are
not visually apparent amongst the full or swollen tissue. In addition, the skin of the scrotum is
starting to get kind of itchy, and it's starting to look scaly or flaky. This has me worried.
- - - - - - - - - - Is this normal, or is something amiss?
- - - - - - - - - - (My follow up appointment is not until Wednesday.) Also, I was given Percocet
for pain as needed. From about 12 hours to 36 hours it was handy, but now there is little or no
chronic discomfort, just the occasional sharp jab when I move around. I don't think the
Percocet would be too useful for that kind of pain; am I correct? Are those little sharp jabs
to be expected? I am obeying orders to not do any heavy lifting, and I am generally taking it
easy. I presume that the usual day-to-day movements of life should not do damage to the repair;
correct?

Black and blue discoloration with swelling, completely normal. It will subside over the next few
weeks and cause no problems. Looks bad, but pretty common.

Skip the percocet now if you don't need it, take ibuprofen.

Post-op activity -> if it hurts, don't do it, otherwise it doesn't matter. The recurrence rates for
a properly performed tension-free mesh repairs such as yours are extremely low, and not related to
postoperative activity. Most surgeons I know send their patients back to unrestricted activity
whenever the patient feels ready. For self-employed patients, that's usually a few days. For
worker's comp patients-about 6 weeks (study was done on that, which I read a year or two ago, but
now I can't find it).

HMc

P T said:

Is this normal, or is something amiss?

It all sounds normal. The itching and flaking may be from topical sterilizing solutions (either the
remains of the solutions themselves or some minor irritation from them).

Quoted message said:

Also, I was given Percocet for pain as needed. From about 12 hours to 36 hours it was handy, but
now there is little or no chronic discomfort, just the occasional sharp jab when I move around. I
don't think the Percocet would be too useful for that kind of pain; am I correct?

It could be, but I never took more than one or two Percocet in total, as the pain had diminished to
a dull ache within 24 hours. It was an annoyance, but hardly severe enough to justify that kind of
horsepower. I just took aspirin later on. I think I walked around with an ice pack for a day or two.
The occasional pains on movement lasted for weeks, although they diminished very rapidly after the
first two days or so.

Quoted message said:

Are those little sharp jabs to be expected?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

I am obeying orders to not do any heavy lifting, and I am generally taking it easy. I presume that
the usual day-to-day movements of life should not do damage to the repair; correct?

Correct.

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