Abdomin pain several years after robotic surgery

Hello,

I had robotic surgery approx 3 years ago and thankfully my PSA reading have been undetectable thus far and will hopefully stay that way.

I have been having occasional pain in my lower abdomin (like a muscle spasm) if I turn the wrong way or something. It has only happened a few times over the last 3 years and I think it is in an area where one of the incisions (holes) were made during the robotic surgery. The pain is located on my right side lower abdomin below the belly button.

I have read that hernias can sometimes be caused by previous abdominal surgery but I do not see any bulges like a hernia exists and the pain goes away relatively fast even though the abdominal pain is pretty painful when it happens.

I plan on going to the Dr but which one should I go to. (My Internist or local urologist (who did not perform the surgery))

Anyone else had these symptoms or have advice on what could cause this. It may not be as a result of the robotic surgery but based on the location it appears it is.

Thanks In Advance

I'd start with your primary care doctor. Your doctor can help you decide if the problem is a hernia. (They are common after prostate surgery, by the way.)

The other thing it could be is an adhesion. That happens when two layers of tissue that are supposed to slide over each other get stuck together at a surgery scar. Adhesions often improve on their own but if they don't a surgeon will sometimes need to go in to pull the stuck bits apart.

Is there some particular twist or other motion that can reliably cause the pain? That would be a help when the doctor is trying to figure out what is going on.

Thanks for the info.

This weekend I was just bending down to pick something up and the throbbing pain hit me (like a very bad cramp or muscle spasm). I was just holding my lower abdomen with the sharp pain.

After that episode I can feel a soreness around the area when I bend down but not at all as painful as when the throbbing pain hit

I've dealt with the same symptoms for 5 years now. My Dr. says it is from surgical adhesions and possible nerve damage related to those adhesions. You probably stretched/tore one. I do daily stretching exercises, core strengthening excercises (carefully) and aleve.