Why Does the Hernia Mesh Cause Nerve Pain?

After a hernia surgical procedure, many patients experience the pain of using an implanted hernia mesh, and it can be highly painful with a chronic nerve related pain the follows the patient after the surgery is long over. The post-operative recovery after the insertion of a hernia mesh can be painful to the nerves, to where it affects the individual’s quality of life.¹ One treatment for hernia mesh pain affecting nerves after a surgical procedure can include Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation or TENS, which can offer hernia mesh patients an opportunity to reduce mesh-related foreign body sensations and pain as soon as one week post-surgery.¹ The surgeon who performed the hernia mesh surgery may or may not suggest using TENS procedures to reduce pain after a hernia mesh surgery. The patient will need to be involved in the overall recover of his or her surgical pain management plan, to ensure that everything that can be done to reduce the pain after a hernia surgery is accomplished, including to reduce the pain of the hernia mesh as it presses on various nerves in the body post-surgery.

Overall, the inguinal hernia repair surgery is a common surgical procedure that men and women have performed for their hernia repairs in our country. Although the surgery is common, any surgery can come with a host of risks, which can detrimentally affect a person over time or for the rest of the person’s life. On average, there are around 30-40% of patients who are men who require this surgery, with around 3-6% of women needing an inguinal hernia surgery in their lifetimes.¹ Many patients experience a high level of pain after their hernia surgeries, and they can develop acute postoperative pain that originates in neuropathic, nociceptive and in inflammation in the person’s body.¹

The reason that a hernia mesh will cause pain in the body after a surgery, is because there are times after a hernia surgery that the body does not adapt well to the mesh. Sometimes, if a patient is able to receive nerve stimulation therapy, it can help reduce the chronic pain that can develop after a hernia surgical procedure. There are times after a hernia surgery, where the person will also develop an infection around the area of the hernia mesh. If this is the case, then there can be complications, and in many instances, the hernia mesh may need to be removed if the infection cannot be cleared up. The pain following a hernia mesh surgery can be caused by:¹

• Neuropathic
• Nociceptive
• Inflammation

This pain can be treated with using analgesic medications and non-pharmacological interventions, to help relieve pain that can accompany a hernia mesh.

If the person is able to utilize the TENS method for preventing pain after a hernia mesh surgery, it can help to prevent pain in the body following the surgery. The TENS procedure can act as a short-term analgesic after a hernia mesh surgery, to improve:

• Autonomic vascular system healing
• Accelerates wound healing
• Reduces tissue necrosis in the area of the surgery
• Inhibits inflammation in the area of the incision
• Reduces peripheral and central sensitization¹

The pain that can follow a hernia mesh surgery is chronic pain, that means it can accompany a hernia mesh surgical procedure and remain painful for over 3 months after a hernia surgery. This is called acute postoperative pain, which can interfere with a person being able to manage daily tasks of living and taking care of self, can affect working, taking care of the family, walking, sleeping and can last up to and beyond 6 months post-surgery for a hernia.

If you experience pain and you have just had a hernia mesh surgery, the pain can affect all areas of your life, including:

• Physical functioning and daily activities
• Bodily pain and bodily functioning
• General health
• Lowered vitality
• Lowered emotional defense
• Mental health lowered defenses¹

In the event that this has happened to you, you can call our law office today, and we will review your claim with you regarding nerve pain after a surgical procedure with a hernia mesh.

There are many factors that can cause a complication, after a hernia mesh surgery. The person’s characteristics related to the hernia will be considered, as will be the:²

• Type of hernia
• Hernia size
• Operation time
• Follow up time
• Surgical site occurrence
• Incidence of infection
• Incidence of seroma and hematoma
• Recurrence of hernia
• Sensation of foreign body
• Incidence of chronic pain

Most patients either have a titanium-coated mesh or polypropylene mesh, that can be used after a Lichtenstein repair for their hernia repair surgery. Patients can have a different experience with each type of hernia repair surgery mesh used for the surgical procedure, depending on the person’s:

• Age
• Gender
• Body mass index
• Smoking habits
• Comorbidity and diseases
• American Society of Anesthesiologists score
• Hernia type
• Side of hernia
• Duration of hernia present
• Operation time
• Secondary outcomes
• Surgical site occurrence
• Recurrence of hernia
• Foreign body feeling
• Incidence of chronic pain²

As can be seen, there are many reasons for a hernia mesh to cause nerve pain. If you have had a hernia mesh surgery which has caused you extensive nerve pain, you can call us to review your claim with you. You can feel free to call us today at the Law Offices of Gary K. Walch, and you can speak to us now at 866-INJURY2 or 866-465-8792 regarding your nerve pain from a hernia mesh surgery.

References

• ¹Parseliunas, A., Paskauskas, S., Simatoniene, V., Kubiliute, E., Dainius, E., Subocius, A., Venclauskas, L., & Venskutonis, D. (2022). Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation Reduces Pathological Sensation of Mesh One Week after Open Inguinal Hernia Surgery: Follow-Up Results from a Randomized, Double Blind and Placebo-Controlled Trial. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 58(6), 725. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina58060725
• ²Akalin, C., & Karagulle, O. O. (2021). The effects of onlay titanium-coated mesh on recurrence, foreign body sensation and chronic pain after ventral hernia repair. Asian Journal of Surgery, 44(9), 1158–1165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asjsur.2021.02.022