Be sure to wear abdominal binder after abdominal surgery

[livingbyfaith]

My husband was not told this, not all doctors tell you, so I am putting this out for everyone to heed. You are very prone to get a hernia in the area of the incision, need to be careful and wear support. Better safe than sorry.

[Cb75]

What are symptoms of hernia?

[CRguy]

Symptoms can include : pain, bulging/swelling, comes and goes (reducible hernia), stable or getting larger ( NON reducible ), feeling sick, GIT issues.....and a number of other things....call the doc and get checked out is the best advice. Hernias can occur in many places for many reasons but the surgical ones will usually be related to a prior incision site which may include an "internal" incision and not always necessarily exactly where the skin scar is located.

My surgeon told me that the ileostomy incision I had was actually more prone to herniation than even the midline resection one
( everyone's own docs can comment on the extent of individual incisions...'cos one size does NOT fit all ! )
I wore a binder for both, no heavy lifting for 6 weeks, and went to a registered physiotherapist post-op both times to rehab the lower back, core and abs before getting really aggressively active again ( 2 hour karate workouts 3x per week ).

Sometimes it is very annoying that the docs don't give you more of a heads up..... which is why I love THIS forum !!!!

Cheers and best wishes all
CRguy

[Lee]

I have a rather large hernia at my stoma. I wear a special belt to keep it in. I've been told it will be major surgery to repair my hernia. They would transfer my stoma from my left side to right side of my body that would require a 5-10 days hospital stay. Because I have few blockage issues (happens 1-2 yr for a few hrs) I'm holding off on surgery. Honestly, I feel the biggest contributor to my hernia is coughing fits I get when I'm sick with a cold or cough.

Nuhope makes special belts for people like me who have stoma hernias.

Lee

[esk2poo]

Good advice. As the resection was my second abdominal surgery, everything was weakened. Of course, being in the worst possible shape didn't help either. I am currently wearing my abdominal binder right now. I had my gall bladder out on Thursday along with the repair for the hernia that I got. Just a little pain now and a lot better than where I was a year ago.
Good luck,
Allen

[TimT]

Great advice!
Just recovered from a double incisional hernia repair surgery. 6" slice right thru the fading 15" scar.
For future easy access I would like a zipper installed please. Maybe a ziploc would be better.
My belly button needs a rest. Just happy its still there.
I'm an exercise freak and i'm convinced thats what did it, but the docs think otherwise.
They say with the radiation/chemo the belly lining does not heal well and a its not uncommon to get the split-gut.
Same here: the binder was mentioned only after the hernia.
I love my (2) new man girdles.
TT

[Busymamaof3]

Where do you get a binder? I had hipec 2 weeks ago - big midline incision, small one where the colostomy was reversed and a new ileostomy. Sounds like I have lots of trouble spots!!!!

[TimT]

Got one at walgreens and the other came compliments of surgical unit. I prefer the one that has high cotton content.
TT

[PGLGreg]

I have an umbilical hernia, I'm told, which shows up on CT scans, though nothing is visible to the eye. I asked my surgeon about it, and he said he'd fix it if it bothered me, otherwise just let it be. I do sit-ups, and it doesn't bother me. No one ever said anything to me about a binder.

[Ashlee H.]

I wish I had been told how important a abdominal binder was! I ended up having a large hernia repaired (about 4" x 4" for the mesh), got a bad infection, and took months to heal. Thank goodness normally hernia repairs go smoothly for most people. I had mine done with HIPEC, so probably a combo of the two surgeries. Since the surgery, I often wear SPANX throughout the day and it really makes a difference in how I feel. If I'm doing yard work or household chores, I'll wear a binder. I've gotten mine from all over the place from Amazon.com to medical sites.

[Sunwaterandsky]

I had a small incisional hernia after my resection. It wasn't painful, but I was very conscious of the asymmetry of my stomach. What really annoyed me was that none of the doctor's believed me when I explained it, but quickly changed their tune when the CT scan confirmed. it.

I have had it repaired and I am glad that I did. I still don't have a beautiful tummy, but at least it looks even

[Busymamaof3]

Can you wear one with an ileostomy? Sounds like I could use one but not sure if it is too constricting....

[scaredwidowedmom]

Can you wear one with an ileostomy? Sounds like I could use one but not sure if it is too constricting....

I'd like to know as well. I looked at th NuHope belt and it looks like something that is specifically made to wear with ileostomies. Lot of measuring to make sure it's in the right place. Are there any other alternatives?

[livingbyfaith]

All great comments, thank you, will check the place mentioned. My husband got the hernia which now cannot be repaired without delaying restart of chemo. If anyone is helped in the future, that is wonderful.

[babs249]

I sure wish I had been told to wear an abdominal binder. I seem to remember that the thinking back when I had my resection eleven years ago was that the binder contributed to the patient being more prone to developing pneumonia. I ended up with a hernia that's not a hernia. The way it was explained to me is this: I have a weakness in the abdominal wall that means I have an unsightly bulge a little to the left of my center surgery scar, down by the pubic area. But, since none of my internal organs are bulging out it's not really a hernia. All I know is this, I can never wear a bathing suit again, and I think it's a little visible if I wear a dress or pants that are somewhat form-fitting. I don't like it, but I've been told surgery on it would not help (wouldn't want the surgery anyway!).