Referred pain after laparoscopic hernia repair surgery
| Discussion in 'All Categories' started by John - Feb 26th, 2020 3:11 pm. | |
John
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My right shoulder pain was off the scale after laparoscopic surgery. My shoulder felt tight with sharp pain and parts were very sore when I pressed on them. I thought I had been left too long on that shoulder during surgery. Even taking a deep breath caused more pain in the shoulder. Neither hydrocodone or heating pad to shoulder helped more than a little. A call to the Physician's Assistant clued me in. CO2 gas was used to inflate my abdomen during surgery and this can irritate nerves in the diaphragm which causes “referred pain” to the shoulder – very common. *But do you treat the area of referred pain (my shoulder) or the source of the pain?* I did discover that when I put the heating pad over my diaphragm and abdomen (which were not hurting) that I got more immediate and effective relief to my shoulder pain. Eureka! It is sort of counter-intuitive to treat an area that isn't hurting to help a separate area that is hurting. My brain totally tricked me into thinking that it was my shoulder that was injured! I am only sharing this in the hope that other patients with shoulder pain after laparoscopic surgery can be spared needless pain and find a more effective way to treat their “referred” pain. |
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re: Referred pain after laparoscopic hernia repair surgery
by Dr. R.K. Mishra -
Apr 29th, 2020
10:24 am
#1
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Dr. R.K. Mishra
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Dear John Thank you very much for sharing your experience with us. I can understand that it is very painful to bear this discomfort after laparoscopic surgery. Generally, we give tramadol after surgery which gives excellent relief in this shoulder tip pain. But your idea of using a heating pad on the abdomen at the level of the diaphragm is excellent and I will try this in my patients. Thanks again. Dr. R.K. Mishra |
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re: Referred pain after laparoscopic hernia repair surgery
by Preeti Jaishwal -
Apr 30th, 2020
8:04 am
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Preeti Jaishwal
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I heard if tracker are used for fixing the mesh. The recovery period is long and painful. How long the patient has to be in the hospital??? |
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re: Referred pain after laparoscopic hernia repair surgery
by Dr Rahul Pandey -
Apr 30th, 2020
8:14 am
#3
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Dr Rahul Pandey
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Thank you for your query Preeti Jaishwal Yes Tracker are used for fixing the mesh. The recovery period and pain depend upon the size of the hernia, the size of the mesh. If the number of tracker used are more than it can be painful. But it can be handle with analgesic medicine after the operation. The recovery period is about 2 days after that patient can be discharged from the hospital. But some precaution like weight lifting is needed to be avoided for a month. |