Does anyone have any knowledge about the "plastic mesh" that is implanted in a person's stomach for hernias?

Question

does it hurt? is it safe?
are there any long-term side-effects
are there any limitations?
can the body reject it?
will it have to be repaired again?
ANYONE FROM THE MEDICAL PROFESSION OR SOMEONE WHO HAS GONE THROUGH IT, PLEASE ADVISE ME ON THIS PROCEDURE....THANKS IN ADVANCE

thank you all very much. great helpful advice

Answer 1

I just want to chime in on this discussion. I had a right inguinal hernia repaired in the tension free method using mesh. The old way of repairing a hernia is the old tension method where as the ends of the defect is simply sutured together. The problem with this is that it is the most painful repair there is and a very high incidence of repair failure. The mesh is used as an underlay and overlay to repair the defect. Over the next few weeks the body tissues will actually grow into the mesh making the repair very strong if it is done correctly. The mesh cannot be rejected by the the body, but sometimes it can become infected. If that happens and the infection cannot be contained the mesh must be removed. I suggest you consult with a hernia specialist, and make sure you have it done right the first time. This can save you from life long pain and problems.

Answer 2

Hi there. I have not had this procedure, but my Dad did several years ago. i would estimate in the last 7 years or so. to give you a little background, he had half of his stomach removed due to a bleeding ulcer that perforated his stomach lining. while in the hospital he contracted a lung infection. he also had an infection in the incession that prevented them from closing the incession up. ok, the lung infection caused him to cough (by the way he was in a chemically induced coma for 3 weeks b/c of this infection). coughing is a bad thing when you have an open incession in your abdominal cavity. needless to say, the entire abdominal cavity herniated. he looked like he had basketballs all over his abdomin. i think it was almost a year later when the doctors decided to put the mesh in to pull in the abs. the mesh covered the entire cavity. he made it through the surgery with little to no problems and he looked wonderful. he never complained of any pain in regards to the mesh or the procedure. to my knowledge, yes, it is say and no, i don't believe that there are any long-term side effects. there should be no real limitations after you heal from the procedure. can the body reject it??? well, i can only answer that with yes, there is that possibility... of course that possibility is always there for anything. i had surgery about 3 years ago and my body rejected the internal stitches... spit them right out and made a mess of my incession. i would think that it would not need to be repaired again unless you do something to cause another hernia... i guess it really depends on how large the place is that is being repaired.

i do hope that this helped a bit. any surgery is frightening, but i do believe that the benefits will far out weigh the disadvantages of it.

Good luck with the procedure.

Karona

Answer 3

I don't know enough information to answer your questions from a medical standpoint.... I can tell you that my mom had a hernia repaired with plastic mesh. It was uncomfortable like any other surgery but her hernia was painful so if there was pain associated with the mesh, it wasn't anything like the hernia pain so it was considered an improvement. It healed completely with time. I don't know the limitations, but I would assume that there would be a possibility of your body rejecting it since it is a foreign body. My mom never had complications like this. After about 2 years though, the mesh ruptured and the hernia is back. She is currently seeking options for getting it repaired. Her Dr. told her that if they repair it again, she needs to be extremely careful with it. She's was active after the first surgery but not overly active enough that you would think it would cause damage to the mesh. From her experience, it would appear that it can be damaged fairly-moderately easy.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

My surgeon accidentally created my hernia during keyhole surgery to remove my gallbladder, but it wasn't discovered for six months. I jumped online and read up about repairing the tear. It seems that the mesh is the best option and longer lasting than sutures alone. I opted to be cut open for the repair, as I didn't want to have keyhole surgery and have them slip again. It healed quickly, with no infection, and is still working fine today, 16mths later. The surgeon did warn that it could come undone again within 5yrs, but hopefully tissue has grown in and around the mesh and given it plenty of strength. Be careful lifting things or doing anything too strenuous after the repair, it will always be a weak point.

Answer 5

I see it used in hernia surgery all the time. It hurts no more than your surery would without mesh. Of course it is safe. It's not mesh from teh hardware store, it's specially designed, FDA approved medical stuff.
Side effects/limitations - none However, any time there is foreign material in your body, if it gets infected it is a big deal. Every effort is made to keep everything sterile during surgery, and once the skin is closed, your insides will stay clean, but any sign of infection needs to be brought to your sugeon's attention immediately so that it can be treated aggressively.

Your body can reject, or react to, anything put in it, but it is made of stuff not likely to cause a reaction (synthetic material like gore-tex, usually)

The beauty of using mesh is that recurrence rates are LOWER. That is why they use it. Either that or because the hole is too big.

Good luck to you! I'm sure everything will go well.

Answer 6

Using the plastic mesh in hernia surgery is very common when the hole is large. It hurts, just like any surgery would hurt. The body cant "reject" it because it's not made from living cells. Limitations on lifting and heavy work would be like 6-8 weeks like with any abdominal surgery, and hernias commonly re-tear and need to be repaired again, however the mesh does prevent re-herniation somewhat.

Answer 7

i had a hernia in my groin that required repair and they use the mesh, i have had no problem with it , but the limitation are still the same if you strain yourself there is a better chance of another hernia in the same spot because that part of the wall has already been damaged ... so be careful what you lift

Answer 8

Hi there. not only did I get the plastic mesh but I got the plug method done too.

The mesh holds the plugs in place much better.

The only thing I suffered from was adhesions (I'll explain later) but I think i would have gotten them anyway.


a year after the operation, my own scar tissue would bind together and occasionally when I would move or exercise, i would tear one. it hurt like hell and I thought I ripped out my hernia repair, but no... everything was ok. after about 7 years that didn't happen anymore.

good luck !!