possible incisional hernia??
I am 16 days postop and have not been feeling any soreness for about a wee****il today. Today I felt tenderness at the incision where they pulled my stomach out, just to the right of my belly button. When I felt of the area, I can feel a dime size knot. I plan to call the doctor's office first thing in the morning, but have any of you had anything like this? I figure it is a hernia but I don't know if it will be something I have to go have another surgery to fix or just wear a compression type band around my abdomen or what.
The only way you will know is to have a doctor examine you and have an ultrasound to see if it's a hernia. The doctor can usually tell just from the physical examination without even looking at an u/s but you are very early out so it might be hard for them to know if it's a hernia or just some scar tissue underneath your incision.
I had an incisional hernia that I found at around 6 months...apparently that kind of hernia happens right away but usually you don't have symptoms until 3-6 months later. I noticed a lump in the left upper quadrant of my abdomen and it would go away when i laid down and bulge out when i coughed. When i had my original surgery I had pressure on my bladder for some reason and literally had to get up every 15 minutes to pee and I kept telling the nurses that I was worried about getting a hernia b/c i had to strain so often trying to get my then-huge body out of the bed. They ignored me and sure enough I ended up with a hernia right in that side so I was pretty angry when I found out i had one.
By the time I was able to get it operated on it was massive and i could really feel it bulging out. I had no pain from the hernia but the surgery to repair it is painful. Your's may not be a hernia so stay positive and even if it is they can repair it. I feel great now and have had no ill effects from the experience so I'm sure your situation will work out too.
Good luck to you!!
Vicky - SW = 299 CW = 138
