Don't worry, be happy

Finally dragged my big and lazy ass to see a specialist after being bugged by pain in my wound for the past 3-4 weeks. For the benefit of people who don't know, here's a brief history of the surgery I underwent last year.

I discovered a lump in my groin area and was referred to Prof. Eu from SGH for a check-up. He diagnosed it as inguinal, or groin, hernia. In short, the lump that I felt was actually a protrusion of the small intestine or fatty tissue into the groin through a weakness or tear in the abdominal wall.

He recommended open surgery to repair the hernia. As I was under general anesthesia and thus was not aware of what went on during the operation, nor do I remember the doctor's exact description of the procedure (if one was given at all!), I am unable to re-enact the actual procedure. Roughly, it went as follows:

This procedure is done under local anesthesia and requires a 4- to 6-inch incision in the groin. The doctor then pushes the herniated tissue back into place and sutures the opening shut. Sometimes a small piece of synthetic material (e.g. mesh) is placed over the gap to serve as a scaffolding on which scar tissue will grow. Full recovery time takes 4 to 6 weeks.

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/403/main.html

The operation went well and within 1 month, I was back on my feet. I shall not elaborate on the healing process though, for that was painful and fraught with many difficulties. But I had the support and care of friends and family, so I recovered speedily.

Things were going OK until 3 weeks ago, where I experienced sharp stabs of pain at the same area. I saw the GP, who forbade me from exercise on initial inspection, and urged me to go back to the specialist if my condition did not improve after 2 weeks. I waited 3 weeks, and finally decided to go back to the specialist.

So what's the verdict? Prof Eu said that during healing, the scar tissues / mesh may press on the nerves, thus resulting in the pain that I experienced. This could be caused by long periods of inactivity, thus exercise was strongly recommended to stretch and straighten out the mesh.

Phewww!! Boy am I glad. My procrastination was partially caused by the fear of going through the entire operation again to "re-adjust" the mesh, and whatever else. The smile and ease on Prof. Eu's face indicated this was not necessary. As long as they don't have to re-operate on me, I'm happy.