In this new hernia video series, we will discuss a special scenario or a special group of patients which is called failed or recurrent hernia patients, which means somebody has undergone a hernia operation in the past and for whatever reason, hernias come back and this is called a recurrent hernia or a failed hernia repair. The first topic we will discuss in this group is how do you know if your hernia repair has failed or what are the symptoms of a failed hernia repair?
What are the Symptoms of Failed Hernia?
Unexplained Pain in Abdomen
The number one symptom is any unexplained pain in the abdomen following a hernia operation can be a sign of a failed repair, meaning the patient can have a scar from the previous operation and he can experience pain on the scar. Rarely, the pain can also happen somewhere away from the original scar.
So any pain anywhere on the abdomen wall following the hernia operation can happen one year, two years, or even five years after the original operation. Any pain in the abdomen following a hernia surgery can be a sign that the hernias come back.
Swelling of Abdomen
Number two, any swelling on the abdomen, which can happen following a hernia operation, can be a sign that the interstates have again come out of the abdomen wall and the hernias recurred. But one has to bear in mind that following a hernia repair, the swelling usually is not very obvious. Before the first hernia operation, the swelling would have been very easily seen.
It can just come as a bulge under the skin and you can even see the intestines moving through that. But because of a previous repair, because of the previous scarring, because of the previous mesh, when the hernia recurs or comes back again, the swelling may not be very obvious or very clearly seen. It can usually be a very mild bulge on the abdominal wall, unlike the first time, where it was a clear-cut swelling. So any small bulge on the abdominal wall with pain should raise the possibility of a failed hernia repair.
Intestinal Obstruction
Third, many times, patients whose hernia repair has failed may not have a bulge, may not have pain, and they may directly present with something called an intestinal obstruction, where the hernia has already come out and has got stuck and twisted and the patient presents with severe vomiting, inability to pass motions and abdominal distension and this can be the first and the only sign of a failed hernia repair.
Pus Discharge from Scar
Much rare, five years or ten years following a hernia operation, a patient can come with a small pus discharge or fluid discharge through the scar of the previous surgery and that may be because the hernia might have recurred and it might have eroded into the mesh and the Intestines might have given way, giving rise to pus discharge or fluid discharge through the previous car.
So if any of these symptoms happen following a hernia repair over a certain period, one has to suspect a possibility of a failed hernia repair or recurrent hernia repair. So how do we go about treating this problem? We will see that in the following videos.
