Michaelm700 ... First, Welcome to VO! I hope you have a good look around here, read members stories & watch the abundance of Erics most excellent videos!  

I have not had a Hernia related to Ostomy, but others have & will chime in here soon enough. 

When you're up to it, why not start a new forum &  introduce yourself.  It helps us  understand where your coming from besides the hospital. We all like to give newbies a more formal welcome. I truly hope you feel at home here! 

Do a search on sugarbaker in the search box above right.  There are about 10 posts about the sugarbaker technique mostly from about 4 years ago.

Sorry about your hernia.  I have always wear a hernia belt to prevent hernias

Interesting timing for your question; I have an appointment to talk to my surgeon next Tuesday about a hernia repair. I am dreading the procedure. I am very concerned about the possibility of complications as a result of using mesh. A quick Google search shows that a modified Sugarbaker is probably most effective at preventing further hernia, but it does use mesh. I’m not sure whether a biological mesh is as effective as synthetic; I will ask my surgeon. She has offered to do the procedure without mesh, but she acknowledges that the recurrence of hernia is likely. So, what to do? 🤔 It doesn’t look like there’s a perfect solution.

Laurie

@tigerlily 

My surgeon used mesh in the formation of my stoma as a preventative measure to avoid future hernias.  I also have mesh from an inguinal hernia repair from several years ago.  I'm happy to report that I have had no adverse side effects from either mesh.  I may be lucky, but it's been good for me.  

@glenn-giroir thanks for this, Glenn. After a discussion with my surgeon this morning, it looks like the Sugarbaker technique is her method of choice. She will do the repair without mesh if I want, but the efficacy without mesh isn’t very good. She tells me that the incidence of mesh repairs going wrong are about 1%, so that is reassuring. I’m not in a hurry to have this done, so I will take my time making the decision. 

Laurie

@tigerlily  Sorry for the delay in replying. Yes, looks like most docs will only do it as a last resort. One surprising thing I found was the by far the leading cause for failure was that the body attacks and dissolves the mesh over time leaving no protection. Some meshes can dissolve almost entirely in a few years. They do make a titanium mesh, TiMesh, that's been FDA approved for 20 years which is supposed to prevent this. But totally unfamiliar with all this. 

I did find a couple SB posts and they seemed to do very well even a few years out. So, hope your surgery goes well and fixes it!

I developed a hernia a few months ago, and I'm wondering what is considered "normal"? I can put my hand around it like a softball but I can gently push it down if I lay down.  I changed over to Coloplast Flip flanges and I wear a support garment during the day.  

@tigerlily Did you have your repair yet?  I'm going in on Feb 9th.  Can you tell me what to expect - did you stay overnight, need for meds, etc?

@alida I have not. Elective surgeries have been put on hold here in Ontario because of Covid, and I need more time anyway to consider this, so I’m fine with waiting. 

Best of luck with your hernia repair. Please let us know how it went.

Laurie

I just got a call from my surgeon - my hernia repair is scheduled for May 20😵‍💫. I am really nervous about this, probably because it took so long to recover from my cancer/ostomy surgery. I was fine with the idea of the hernia repair as long as it was at some vague point in the future - now it’s getting real. Yikes.

Laurie

Tigerlily, I wish you the best of luck!  I had my repair on April 13th and it wasn't quite what I had expected, although that's probably my fault for not getting full information.  I thought that somehow the doctor was just going to "tuck in" the hernia but NO.  The surgeon later told me how pulling my small intestine out was like a magic trick because there was so much of it!  I had the option of staying overnight and I'm glad I did.  My body doesn't heal itself so easily at 60!  If I had gone home after I would have had a bottle of Norco only; I stayed in the hospital so I could get a few shots of Dilaudid, which were very much needed!  I was just fine after a couple of days, although I notice that I still get tired easily.  This is a major surgery and you need to be prepared to be down for a while.  I DO NOT regret having it done at all because now I look "normal" again!

@alida 

How exactly did they fix your hernia?  I thought it was a tuck it back in thing. I had a really big one. I had a surgery at the end of 2020 because my original would from my ostomy surgery hadn’t healed. They were going to do hernia repair at the same time, but I had an infection next to my stoma that they had to deal with, so they just tucked the hernia in and told me when it comes back, they will do the repair. It hasn’t come back yet but they told me it for sure will at some point. So I’m just mentally preparing. 😊

@tigerlily 

Laurie, I know that feeling— excited but scared at the same time. You will be great!!  And it will be so good to have it done!! 💕

@alida thanks. I am a bit older than you are; I don’t bounce back as quickly either. In fact, I don’t bounce at all anymore. 

Did you have synthetic mesh in your repair?

Laurie

@squeakyandliza I watched a YouTube video of the repair - maybe that was a mistake!🤮 Surgery is better imagined than actually witnessed, I am learning.

I will be glad to get it over with. And the thought of approaching swim season with a flatter stomach is appealing.🩱So, approach-avoidance, like so many things in life.

Laurie

@tigerlily 

Thanks for the warning. I definitely will not be googling any future surgeries. This life really isn’t for the faint of heart. 😊

@squeakyandliza I was so out of it at the time that I didn't even think to ask him and now I wish I had!  He is an EXCELLENT surgeon, though.

@tigerlily I do have mesh now; I guess I just assumed it's synthetic.  I had a surgery several years ago and had mesh put in and I haven't had any problems, so I'm hoping this won't be a problem, either.

@alida I found out this week that I was approved for biological mesh for my hernia repair. I was worried about synthetic mesh, so I am relieved. I am surprised that the hospital approved it - it is much more costly than synthetic mesh. Anybody have experience with using biological mesh in a hernia repair?

Laurie