Post hernia operation precautions, Care and recovery. | Dr. G. Parthasarathy

#hernia #herniasurgery #kimshospitals
Today we are addressing most common doubts and fears which our patients have after discharge after they undergo a hernia operation. Let us see those questions:
Almost all patients ask this question: Should I be in bed rest, or they assume that they have to be in bed rest, If yes how many days must I be in complete bed rest after the hernia operation. It is a myth that after any major operation, one must be in complete bed rest or should not move out of the bed,it’s a myth and bedrest does more harm than good to the patients, infact we strive hard for the early mobilisation of the patient, same day of the surgery we make the patients get out of bed and get them walking, the advantage this has is, when the patient starts walking his breathing improves, the blood flow from the legs starts flowing to the heart, thereby any blod clot developing in the lower limbs which is called as deep vein thrombosis is less, the patients intestines start functioning earlier, their appetite is returned earlier, also it gives a lot of psychological strength to the patient to recover faster. So one advice I always give to the patients is you do not need absolute bed rest, ofcourse they should not be doing any strenuous exercise but, all patients after hernia operation be it laparoscopic or open should be encouraged to get out of bed as much as possible and move around. Absolute bed rest is no longer recommended for hernia operations, we give adequate pain relief in the form of pain killers when the patients go home,that should take care of the pain factor,and they should encourage themselves to get out of bed and be on the move thereby they actually shorten their recovery time.
Hernia is a problem that can afflict patients across the age groups from children to young fit adults to old people so most of the health conscious young adults they are in the habit of regular exercise and going to the gym,they get demoralised that once they get a hernia and undergo a surgery for hernia they will no longer be able to go back to the gym and do those exercises , so this is a common question we face is : Can I go back to the gym after having a hernia operation?If yes when can I go? The general recovery time, first we’ll see for laparoscopic hernia repair what is the recovery time,so for a laparoscopic groin hernia repair, patients can resume their day to day activities from the 3rd day of the surgery, day to day activities meaning all their regular activities, like walking on flat surface, or even climbing a few steps,using the toilet, getting out of bed on their own, all this can be resumed from the third day.In a weeks time they are fit to go out of the house and drive for short distances and go for outdoor walking, generally after 3-4 weeks the patients are encouraged to resume their jogging or walking, we generally ask them not to do weight training exercises, from a period of six weeks onwards patients can start doing more strenuous exercises and from 3 months, fit young patients who have been used to weight training can go back and start doing weight training.For an uncomplicated laparoscopic hernia repair,by 3 months the patients can be absolutely back to their original routine of daily activities exercises be it cardio or weight training, there are no major restrictions in these activities after 3 months, they can do cycling they can do all the outdoor activities and exercises and sports 3 months after the original operation.
Dr. G. Parthasarathy
Sr. Consultant, Surgical Gastroenterology,
Laparoscopic & Hepato-Pancreaticobiliary Surgery
@KIMS Hospitals Secunderabad