Unfortunately, an ileus (intestinal paralysis) developed the day after surgery while I was still in the hospital which caused me to violently wretch and throw up continuously. A nasogastric tube was inserted to relieve this condition and after 4 days the ileus resolved and the tube was removed. I spent 8 days in the hospital. My doctor checked me daily and I could see that he was not happy when he checked my abdomen. He sent me for a CT scan which revealed that the repair had failed, most likely due to the violent heaving I experienced. He said it only takes "one stitch" to unravel the whole thing. In addition to this failure, I also wound up with an enormous hematoma at the site of the laparoscopic incision. It is still oozing heavily and I have to change the dressing twice daily. A repeat hernia repair will have to be performed, but my doctor says this can't be done for a few months as everything inside must settle down. Now, I've started to experience terrible pain, not just from the hernia and the hematoma, but if I cough, sneeze or laugh hard I get this excruciating pain across my mid-section (at the level of my belly button). If I don't wear the abdominal binder, I can't walk for more than a couple of minutes without pain. I notice that when I place my hand under my hernia (size of a cantaloupe) and lift up my entire belly, the pain goes away somewhat.
It seems that everything that can go wrong with a hernia repair did go wrong. Now I'm wondering about this terrible mid-section pain....could this be adhesions, especially since my intestines are now bulging out again? I am seeing the surgeon on Thursday (he sees me every 2 weeks) and I will, of course, consult him about this pain, but I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. Thanks.