Dh has a hernia and needs surgery? Any BTDT?

[Tammy]

My dh found out her needs surgery for his hernia.....

 

Can anyone tell me how long he will be in the hospital...and how long it usually takes to heal?

 

Tammy

[mysticamethyst]

My Dh had one several years ago, he had it done laperscopically and did not even stay in hospital over-night. He even went back to work the next day, now that he shouldn't have done but he is stubborn that way. Really and easy surgery as far as surgery goes. Will keep you in my prayers for quick and speedy recovery.

 

Tammy

[Danestress]

Hey Tammy,

 

My husband had hernia surgery last year. The surgery was outpatient. I believe we were there most of the day, though.

 

The recovery was actually worse than the doctor prepared us for. It was a pretty bad hernia. DH was in a lot of pain for several days and it was at least two before he did anything more than hobble to the kitchen.

 

Within a week he was mostly recovered, but it was a fairly miserable week. I'm not trying to make you scared, but the doctor sorted of acted like "no big deal" and I think DH was not mentally prepared for being in so much pain.

 

Plan on catering:)

[Janna]

Yes, same experience here. Dh was supposed to have 2 hernias repaired last year (well, actually Nov. 2006). During the surgery they found 4 (!) that needed to be repaired. It was outpatient too - done in the surgery center of the local hospital, just no overnight stay. He was there the entire day and was in a lot of pain. The Dr. told him he would be on his feet and possibly back to work after 3 days. It was a full week. And even when he went back to work a week later, it was difficult (but he's on his feet all day).

 

We took the kids to my parents to stay for the week and I am so grateful that we did that. I can't imagine having to take care of dh and the kids, and even having the kids see dad in that much pain.

 

Fwiw, 2 of his hernias were extremely deep and dh had known about them for over 10 years (yes, he's stubborn that way). The other 2 were relatively new and small. His was done laproscopically (sp?) as well.

 

I also don't want to scare you, but like Danestress mentioned, we didn't feel the Dr. prepared us well at all either, though we also weren't expecting a quadruple repair.

 

~Janna

[LisaNY]

My dh had both sides done several years ago - outpatient, which I think is crazy. He was in a lot of pain when we got home, and SO afraid to cough.

Going to the bathroom was fun. :rolleyes:

 

If I remember correctly, he was home for over a week, and then worked 1/2 days for a week. His hernias were pretty extensive, and they had been there for quite some time, so that may be why it took longer for him to recover.

 

Remember, Vicodin is your friend. ;)

[prairiegirl]

My dh had hernia surgery two years ago. I think it depends on where the hernia is situated as to how long the hospital stay is. My husband had to stay in overnight. He was in a lot of pain for a few days. My husband is a cattle farmer. He was helping me do the chores after three days and was back on the tractor doing the chores by himself in a week's time.

 

Julia

mom of 3 (8,7,5)

[Janna]

My dh had both sides done several years ago - outpatient, which I think is crazy.

 

Yes, my dh had both sides too - 2 on each side. Ouch!

 

I do think that made a big difference in the recovery time. Having a single hernia on only one side shouldn't be as long or painful, I would think.

 

And yes, oh yes, Vicoden is your friend.

[momtolgd]

My DH had surgery for a hernia in January 2007. It was done as an outpatient surgery and I think we were at the hospital for a total of about 5 hours. He was in a lot of pain, and coughing was especially difficult. He was very stubborn though and was walking up and down steps by the next evening...he overdid it and ended up blowing out some of his stitches. We had the bedroom all set up so he could be on his laptop easily, and we had all his sci fi movies ready for him to stay occupied. He couldn't handle being in one spot for so long (may be his ADHD) and ended up doing too much too soon. The prescription really helped a lot though. He ate a lot of soup for a couple days!

 

He did go back to work the next week, but wasn't able to lift things for a month (he works with computers).

 

If he would have really rested the first few days, his recovery time may have been shorter, I don't know.

 

I hope everything goes well for your DH.

[Happy]

My dh had both sides done laproscopicly (sp!) a little over a year ago. It was out-patient--arrive at 12:00, surgery at 1:00pm, and home before seven. It did hurt and the pain meds helped a lot. I think he took vicoden for several days, then tylenol for many more. Even after two weeks he was moving slowly and gingerly, but he was moving around. If he'd had a desk job he could have been back to *limited* work after a week.

 

Soft flannel pants are GREAT! Get a larger than normal size because the doctors will 'blow up' the tummy with gas during surgery. Soft and large undies are more comfy--or commando. ;) If he has a job where he needs to wear dress pants, you might invest in a size larger for a few weeks. It took a while before DH wanted any tight waistbands on.

 

Anesthetic can make a person constipated, use a laxative sooner rather than later. Straining is not fun.

 

He was most comfortable slightly elevated with pillows under his back and knees for the first couple of days.

 

Watch the small band-aids covering the wounds. The band-aids caused more problems than the actual surgery scars. Remove them after a day or so.

 

There can be a lot of bruising moving downward...that's normal, but it looks icky. :) Some people report sharp shooting pains after about ten days. Normal and should go away.

 

My dh rested a lot so he could get back to flying sooner. Rest is a critical key in the early days of recovery.

 

Hope he does well!!!!!