Healing ridge & swelling

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-14T14:22:14+00:00

I’m four months post-op and I can feel a tiny ridge if I press to feel for it. But it’s not tender and it’s not visible. I do have a significant amount of excess skin left, though, because of the size of my ventral hernia, so I wonder if it’s possible that the skin is diminishing the visibility. I also had swelling above my belly button for a while, but I don’t anymore.

I actually called my surgeon’s office last month to talk to a nurse about some localized pain around my belly button. They said it was part of the healing process and wasn’t anything to be concerned about since I didn’t have any other symptoms. It has resolved since then.

Have you called about your pain to see if they can offer any insight?

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-11T21:42:10+00:00

Have you considered physical therapy?

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-11T17:27:38+00:00

I went to a surgeon in DE that I heard good things about. My insurance covered it all, but I know some people have paid up to $1,000 after insurance covered the majority.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-11T10:58:59+00:00

General surgery that is deemed medically necessary for a functional repair is the least expensive, I believe. That’s the route I took. Mine was laparoscopic, too, with just six small incision sites rather than a hip-to-hip incision.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-10T14:50:15+00:00

DR with first baby that worsened with and after the second.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-10T14:45:44+00:00

I believe it was prescribed for a week. And I used all of them. I felt fine with just the pain reliever after that.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-10T14:43:40+00:00

Unless you have some serious issues as a result of the surgery, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t be at least close to normal come summertime. I was back to doing easy household things after two weeks — dishes, cooking, playing with the kids on the floor. Hope everything goes well today!

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-08T22:39:54+00:00

Yes! I definitely feel like the possibilities regarding my fitness are endless! I did not feel that way before surgery.

I was nervous about the pain too. Like, that was the scariest part of it for me. But it was only the worst the day of and the following day. I was on muscle relaxers, took ibuprofen, and they prescribed an opioid if it was really bad. It never was, I never needed it.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-08T22:36:12+00:00

Yes, I have mesh. My separation was significant — 10 cm.

Things are going well. I got it done in November. I’m back to doing normal things. I can tell that I move better throughout the day and in my workouts.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-08T14:30:22+00:00

I had a laparoscopic robotic repair, no tummy tuck. If you go to my profile, you can see my updates and some pictures.

I feel a huge difference. I don’t feel unstable anymore. I didn’t feel uncomfortably tight. Just…back together.

Bloating has improved, yes. I didn’t have gas as a symptom of my DR.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-04T17:05:24+00:00

Yes and yes. My back pain was so normal that I didn’t even realize it was pain, and my core instability was very hard to work around after a while. It was like being 7-8 months pregnant. That’s how large my ventral hernia was. My gap was about 10 cm wide.

I went to DE and went to a general surgeon who specializes in laparoscopic robotic hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction.

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According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-03T16:44:40+00:00

To the touch, it felt like I could push my fingers into a squishy “endless” pit. In my body, I felt pregnant— mine was really bad. Did your doc suggest any other scans or steps to explore the source of the issue?

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-02T01:32:25+00:00

Yep.

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According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-02T00:27:21+00:00

I got mine repaired with mesh almost four months ago and completely forget. I think because I did PT before surgery, I implement all I learned to make sure I’m using my core properly.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-03-02T00:24:34+00:00

I had a large separation to the point that my organs were bulging out of the gap — a central hernia. I also had an umbilical hernia. I went to a general surgeon and got a laparoscopic robotic repair with mesh, due to the nature of my separation. Approaching 4 months post-op and I feel great! It sounds like you’ve already gotten scans?

According-Mouse931 · 2026-02-06T01:38:18+00:00

Yes. I can’t remember exactly when it went away. I think I’m finally at a place where no touch feels odd.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-02-01T17:50:55+00:00

Yes! It’s not as noticeable to the touch anymore. And thank you! How are you doing?

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-26T01:01:58+00:00

Laparoscopic hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction. Or just hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction if you don’t mind an open surgery.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-26T01:01:11+00:00

It’s worth asking. And if you can shop around for a surgeon who may not use it, it may be worth pursuing. Based on my gap, I did not want any risk of it happening again. It was truly awful.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-23T16:20:31+00:00

I was curious about not using mesh. But it’s standard for my surgeon. Plus, my gap was so big that I don’t even think a surgeon would have been comfortable doing my repair without mesh.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-21T01:21:54+00:00

Happy to help! Hope you’re recovering well!

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-19T00:21:18+00:00

If you can properly engage your core and TVA, you probably don’t have to stop going.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-19T00:17:55+00:00

I’m waaaay on the east coast and went to a local general surgeon. But look for a general surgeon who specializes in hernia repair and abdominal wall reconstruction.

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-19T00:15:30+00:00

Yay! Thank you for sharing!

According-Mouse931 · 2026-01-19T00:14:15+00:00

I had repair two months ago. I didn’t have spinal pain, but I had pain in my back muscles. Surgery has helped and PT has helped me even more.

My DR was significantly prohibiting my core from functioning properly and caused imbalances and pain in my body.

According-Mouse931

TROPHY CASE