Hernia near PCa incision site

I recently got a hernia next to my RALP primary incision site a few weeks ago. From what I can tell its maybe 1.5" in length. No pain or discomfort yet, but straining from lifting does aggravate it (so I dont do THAT anymore). I've heard anecdotally that having it repaired can come with a long healing time. Does anyone have any experience with this? What was your experience? Does this happen a lot? Suggestions?

I had my hernia repair surgery done after 2 yrs of my RALP. It was an open surgery.
The healing took a little longer then RALP.
Restricted from lifting heavier objects for 10 weeks.
Till date, I m still ok

I may curious what are the signs of hernia - I had my RALP on 5/26 and the pain around the main incision site is still there ( after 8 weeks ) - is that normal or is it a sign of hernia ?

Thanks Steve
Typically how long does one experience pain around the incision site after surgery.

Had Lap inquinal surgery 7 years after open RP...back in business 10 weeks later...recovery was much less ardent then RP...I did nothing two weeks prior and 2 weeks post...from there just cardio for 3 weeks after that I let it rip...er...ah...oh well....I am/was super fit prior...evidence of knowledge to me...evidence of fame to most...Ich Mach Nix....in fame I lessen...you learn...in knowledge I learn...you lesson...arguably...

ddyss....I hear good things about Dr. Akshay Bhandari. Obviously you are happy with the results. Good luck going forward.

Yes, incisional hernias after robotic surgery are fairly common. I've seen rates as high as 25 percent of men who have had Davinci RPs.

I had my incisional/umbilical hernia fixed at that same time as I did my artificial urinary sphincter. It was a tag team match where two surgeons took turns cutting on me. My urologist went first with the plumbing repair and when he was done he tagged up with the laparoscopic abdominal surgeon to do the hernia repair.

The surgeon who did the hernia is a whiz with a laparoscope but he prefers to do open hernia repairs. He says he has too much trouble with adhesions when he does laparoscopic hernia repairs and he also likes to patch both sides of the muscle which is difficult with a 'scope. His plan was to use two three inch squares of mesh for the repair (inside and out) but when he got in there he found that the muscle wall had stretched thin around the area and he couldn't find anything sturdy enough to hold the stitches. He wound up using pieces of mesh much, much bigger than he had planned and he tacked them down at the edges with laparoscopic punches. I woke up with the expected three inch incision above what was left of my navel plus eight laparoscopic punctures like button holes on a double breasted coat.

I'm not sure there is much actual advice that can be extracted from my story. I had sort of expected that having the hernia repair and the artificial sphincter and the penile implant all done at the same time would be something like getting run over by a truck and it was... a rather larger truck than I had expected. I spent several days in the hospital doing my beached whale impression. From time to time the nurse would ask me, "can you sit up" and I'm afraid my response may have been ... um... a bit colorful.

The other advice might be to get things patched up as soon as possible. Hernias don't go away and they tend to grow. Things get stretched out and are harder to fix.

I had an incisional hernia repair at the site above the navel. It was repaired with a mesh patch. I was in and out of the hospital in one day. Recovery was much easier then the original DaVinci procedure. Pain was also much less. Healing time was about 6 weeks. If you can avoid heavy lifting for several months, I would recommend that you do. Heavy lifting seems to screw up the surgeons work ..... I learned the hard way.

Also, I have had three inguinal hernia repairs. One of these was completed with a mesh patch. All of these repairs were easier to recover from than the DaVinci but tougher than the incisional repair. Healing time was 2 to three months.

Since I seem to be prone to hernias I avoid heavy lifting. I do bike, swim, hike, lift light weights and play pickleball.

I agree with Peter, the earlier you address the hernia repair the better. Don't allow them to grow too large.

One thing about the mesh patches, my DaVinci surgeon told me that the mesh patch from one of my inguinal hernia repairs made the DaVinci PCa surgery harder to do. Apparently he had to go around the patch and not through it.

Post Edited (RCS) : 8/1/2017 5:48:05 AM (GMT-6)

I got what I consider to be a small hernia at navel about 6 months after RALP. It has not been painful but I am disappointed that my post surgery, "new look" belly button now is not as attractive! Talked to surgeon and PCP, and neither seem concerned. I figure it can only get worse, so will have more conversation about repairing later. My question is, how successful are the repairs, as I don't want any do overs.
Thanks,
Mack

There are no guarantees with hernia surgeries...But my repair job was ten years ago.

Mack,
I developed a ventral hernia a few months after my RALP. I had a mesh repair the following year and it failed. A scan showed that the tacks had pulled loose on one end. I was told that the chances of a successful repair become less likely after a failure. I have been wearing a hernia belt to help keep it in place.
Harry

Incisional hernias for surgery are common enough. I had one repaired about a year after surgery. Out patient. General anesthesia, though. Hurt for 2-3 weeks after. Best wishes.

NewspaperLover

UP4thefight..... I can only hope when I get this dealt with that it goes as good as it did for your DH.

I go in one week from today for my two year check up. I'll bring it up to my uro then but I'm sure he'll probably send me back to my primary. Thanks everyone for the input. I'll let you know how it plays out. It may be a while yet.