Emergency Colon Resection - Pain from Cutting Through Preexisting Umbilical Mesh

I had a colon perforated on May 28 this year. It was an emergency surgery on Sunday night. They cut through my navel where a mesh was installed 18 years ago. I have a stoma on my right side that has become a parastomal hernia. The mesh they cut through had a lot of adhesions, and the one mesh became two meshes. The two meshes rub when I move, causing a lot of pain. The mesh is also rubbing against the stoma that is protruding out of my right side. I've asked my docs if this can cause a rupture. They won't answer. They are nonverbal about the pain caused by the mesh. Has anyone experienced mesh pain from a pre-existing surgery? I had no idea I had adhesions until one of the home nurses read me the surgery notes. But she refused to read it once she saw that I was asking about lawsuits.

I cannot offer any advice on your condition, but you should have every right to the surgery notes to read yourself. Of course, I am assuming that Alabama is no different from Colorado in medical matters such as this. I have every bleeping note from my 3 months in the hospital available on my hospital portal. Once I found and read my own surgery notes, I had a holy shit moment. Not because of anything that was done wrong, but because it illuminated how close to death I was. Fortunately for me, my surgeon is a hero. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

Daniel

Hello,

Hospital should provide you with a copy of the surgical report, and all test/scan results. Like Daniel, my surgical report was tough to read. As far as the troubles with your hernia mesh, I have quite a bit of experience with this. Not sure if my experience will help with your situation.

15+ years ago I had 3 hernias repaired with mesh. An umbilical, and 2 inguinal.

Last summer, I suddenly lost my appetite and a lot of weight. Had a fever and fatigue. After a couple of weeks of this, the cramping pain started. Non-stop, horrible pain just below my navel. Eventually I went to the emergency room at my local hospital. They admitted me right away.

I was in the hospital 3 weeks and still in tremendous pain. A CT scan revealed my colon had a hole in it causing sepsis, C Diff infections and peritonitis. Doctors couldn't figure out why I had the hole.

Finally near the end of my 4th week, my Infection doctor said I should have surgery since the 4 powerful antibiotics I was taking were ineffective. By now I had lost 64 pounds and couldn't handle the pain any longer. I agreed to exploratory surgery. Later that night I underwent what was supposed to be a 3-hour look at my colon area. Surgery ended 7 hours later at 1:00 am. Over the years, the 2 inguinal meshes migrated into my bladder and colon. Eventually my colon was perforated causing the infections. Luckily my bladder was intact. I ended up with a colostomy on my left side just above the navel. All mesh was removed. I went back to full-time work 3 1/2 weeks later and regained my health.

Mesh did cause this. My colostomy is permanent due to prostate radiation treatment I underwent early last year. Tissues don't heal properly after being irradiated. Later many folks said SUE SUE SUE, you could get BIG money.

My inguinal hernias were very hard to repair. I could hardly walk without pain. My surgeon said he would do the best he could. He was successful. I got 15 years of excellent quality of life from the hernia repairs.

So.... I will NOT sue. Never even consider it. No one twisted my arm to undergo hernia repair. My surgeon had warned it would be a difficult fix. The fact that problems arose later in my life means one thing to me.... nothing's perfect.

So that's my tale of woe and redemption. I wish you good luck and good health.

This is a concern of mine as I meet my surgeon 4 days to discuss a reversal. I believe they use mesh to cover over the muscle?

An visible infected mesh is a difficult situation. Your surgeon should address this.

My Ostomy Journey: Kimberly | Hollister

My surgeon in Australia said he never uses mesh because they have found it causes problems with infection. Get a second opinion or have a trip to Australia. We have less problems than you guys in America.