Recovery after groin hernia surgery
I'm going to spend the next few minutes talking about a topic that many patients ask me about and that is: what is the recovery like after groin hernia surgery?
I'm going to divide that into two parts:
What to expect in terms of symptoms after hernia surgery
What you can and can't do after hernia surgery
Common symptoms after groin hernia surgery
Pain
This is the commonest symptom that patients experience after any surgery in general and hernia surgery in particular. Pain does gradually improve with time so expect the worst pain in the first 24-48 hours but that does improve over the days that follow surgery and usually the pain resolves completely by 10-14 days after the operation. Your surgical team will provide you with painkillers in the early stages after surgery and that is usually simple painkillers like paracetamol, codeine or an anti inflammatory. Most people find that they don't require these painkillers after a week or so.
Indigestion
In the early stages particularly after keyhole surgery you may feel a little bit bloated and you may feel some indigestion after surgery. You may find that your stomach can't tolerate food very well in the first day or two but that usually settles down and you are usually able to eat normally after 3 days or so from the operation. An important point to make here is that you shouldn't avoid eating food altogether but rather have small portions at regular intervals depending on what you can tolerate.
Nausea and vomiting
The feeling of sickness is usually limited to the first 24 hours or so after the operation and is associated with the anaesthetic and can be linked with pain. Vomiting is rare and the feeling of sickness usually settles within 24 hours. Depending on the degree of sickness, the surgical team may provide you with an anti sickness tablet to take as and when required in the first day or two after surgery.
Tiredness
Now this is a symptom that may last longer than some of the other symptoms that I mentioned earlier and it isn't uncommon for some patients to experience tiredness for up to 3 weeks after surgery. Tiredness may be the limiting factor that stops people from going back to work early after hernia surgery. It is an expected symptom and simply put, it is caused by the body using up some of its resources during and shortly after surgery and then having to replenish these resources further down the line. Tiredness after hernia surgery isn't usually severe and most people can get back to work after two weeks, particularly if the nature of their work isn't strenuous.
Dos and Don’ts after groin hernia surgery
Activities
In terms of the things that you can and can't do after hernia surgery, generally speaking you are limited by the symptoms that you're experiencing. In particular the sickness, the tiredness and the pain. For example, most people won't be able to go out for a run a day after surgery because of the pain and because of the tiredness. But if you want to go for a walk a day after surgery and you're not finding it uncomfortable and you are able to do so then there shouldn't be a restriction on that. You will find after a few days that you're able to do more things like going shopping or walking the dog. Again, you're mainly restricted by the pain and the other symptoms like the tiredness.
So in short, listen to your body If you try to do something and it causes you pain then that's a sign for you to stop and maybe re attempt that activity in a week or two when you're in less pain.
Driving
There are things that I would advise you not to attempt very early on for example driving, because most people will find it very difficult to perform an emergency break in the first week or so after surgery and that can be a hazard to yourself and to others and therefore I wouldn't attempt to drive for at least seven days preferably 10 days after surgery. Other examples include operating heavy machinery in the early days after surgery.
Going back to work
Again, that depends on your symptoms and the type of job that you perform so for a less strenuous job that doesn't require too much physical activity you potentially could get back to work after two weeks if you're not feeling very tired. If you are feeling tired, do consider a phased return if your employer allows that. You might want to wait a little bit longer for example 3-4 weeks after surgery if your job is a little bit more physically demanding.
Lifting objects
That also depends on the amount of effort required and your degree of comfort in doing that. For example, if you want to lift the shopping and it doesn't hurt then that's the thumbs up from your body telling you that you can do that. But obviously if it's uncomfortable then maybe don't carry that item at that point in time. In most cases, you should be able to lift reasonably heavy objects after 6 weeks from surgery
And always remember to contact your surgeon or your surgical team at any point after your procedure if you have any queries or concerns