Pain After Open Ventral Hernia Repair

In open ventral hernia surgery, the surgeon makes one long incision to access and reinforce the abdominal wall bulge or tear with a small sheet of mesh. Sutures are used to secure the mesh and close the incision.

Open Method and Pain

• Open ventral hernia surgery patients have "significantly higher pain" postoperatively than those who undergo the minimally invasive version, say Dr. Harmza and colleagues in the International Journal of Surgery.

Pain Related to Surgery

• Pain is usually mild to moderate; patients take acetaminophen, ibuprofen or, in some cases, a prescription pain killer, say surgeons David M. Lambert and Alexander W. Lesko. Severe pain should not last more than three days.

Chronic Pain May Develop

• Severe, chronic post-hernia pain "is a significant problem," occurring in about 9 percent of patients in a multi-center five-year study, as reported by the Ulster Medical Journal. Other studies show it occurs after 6-12 percent of open hernia surgeries.

Causes of Chronic Pain

• The root is unknown but likely happens when a nerve becomes trapped in the mesh, sutures or internal scar tissue, according to a Ulster Medical Journal article by Somaiah Aroori and Roy AJ Spence.

Treatment of Chronic Pain

• Chronic pain after open hernia surgery can be treated by oral pain killers, injections to the pain site or via surgical exploration, according to the same Ulster Medical Journal article.