Hi @rick,

I don't have a hernia, so I can't speak for the repair from personal experience.

But from what I understand, they are intended to be permanent, but not every repair is 100% guaranteed. There are variables that might make the repair fail after some time, and your surgeon should be able to give you some idea of your own risk factors. 

Things like weight, if you're a smoker, medication use, how well the repair was done, etc. can all have an influence over the long-term success. 

I'm hoping that other members who've had the surgery can expand on their experiences. 

Hi Rick,

I had surgery in October which was supposed to include a hernia repair, which they ended up not doing because of the other problems they found when they cut me open. But in the consultation with the hernia surgeon, he explained that there are various types of mesh they can use that have different pros and cons. A synthetic mesh is most sturdy but has the highest chance of a problem, such as an infection. They can use a mesh made of some sort of human tissue that is the most compatible with your body, but can stretch and allow the hernia to return. He couldn’t tell me in advance which one he was planning on using because he wanted to see how things looked when he got in there. It seems to me there was a third type in between the other two. I’ll see what my husband remembers tomorrow and edit my post if he remembers more info than I do. 

Bottom line, I would definitely ask the surgeon about different mesh types and which one he plans to use. Best luck to you. I’ll be curious how it goes since I will eventually have hernia repair surgery too. 

@squeakyandliza Thanks for this, Liza. I have a hernia too, and am avoiding dealing with it just because I am concerned about issues related to mesh. My surgeon said she can do a repair without mesh, but it wouldn’t be as strong. So I am quite interested in what your surgeon told you. 

Laurie

Hi Rick,

I had the mesh repair for a peristomal hernia a few years ago. Its been working great for me. 

I posted a lot about it then ... not sure how to find that now ( ???), but all O.K. now.Not really an easy surgery as recovery took awhile, but very very worth it! It was laparoscopic and there were several holes in my abdomen to recover from. They were  painful ..nothing ibuprofen couldn't handle.

Let me know if you have more questions, I'll be happy to respond.

Good luck.

My surgeon used mesh in the construction of my stoma - kind of a donut around the stoma. He told me this after the fact, that it is starting to be done because it makes for a stronger stoma with less chance of future hernia.  I'm not sure if this is related to the mesh or not, but I do get stiff and sore around my stoma when I'm inactive for a while.  After I've moved around fr a few minutes, it goes away.  

Also, some years ago I had an inguinal (groin) hernia repaired with mesh.  I've never had a single problem, and it has fixed the hernia completely.  

@tigerlily

Laurie,

When I had my surgery in October that was originally going to include repairing my hernia, they did something to push it back in. They told me that it will 100% come back, but so far it hasn’t. I have been careful about not lifting things that are too heavy. The surgeon is one who specializes in hernia repair. I wonder if what he did it what your surgeon is thinking of, without the mesh???  Maybe ask her what the chances are of ge hernia coming back is if she doesn’t use mesh, in addition to asking about the different kinds of mesh available. 

BTW, my husband doesn’t remember the doctor mentioning a solution with human tissue, he just remembers dr mentioning synthetic and biologic (safer bit less sturdy). 

@squeakyandliza Thanks, Liza. I have dealt with this so far by tried and true methods - denial and avoidance - but I know I will have to face it sooner or later. Right now, I’m telling myself that my surgeon is busy getting caught up on the Covid backlog, so I can add rationalization to my list of methods 😂. The trauma of my cancer/ostomy surgery is affecting my ability to make rational decisions about future surgeries, I realize. If only I could remember where I put my big girl pants, I would put them on and deal with this. Thanks for your reply.

Laurie