Welcome to My Belly Button Hernia, I decided to share my experience with you after I realized I couldn't find any blogs that offered the total experience of the Umbilical Hernia surgery with photos. Ideally, when your about to go under the knife, you want to know everything about the surgery as well as Individual experiences, so I encourage you to post video, pictures, your experience and of course your recovery to help people feel more comfortable about having the surgery. Please feel free to ask any questions or comments, I will try my best to answer any questions you may have.
What is an Umbilical Hernia???
Well I'm guessing you've already read all about what a hernia really is, but I've provided this illustration for your convenience and better understanding.
Well... Here's my story:
After having a horrible pregnancy, where I vomited practically 3 x's every day and delivered an 8 pound baby via C-section, I realized I had a huge budge underneath my belly button. It bothered me only when I touched it and it seemed to get bigger as I began to loose my baby weight.
I visited my doctor an they gave me the news that I will need surgery to repair the damage done to my abdominal wall. I was soooooo up set! I was just getting into my exercise routine to loose the baby weight and BAMMM! I immediately had to stop.
My Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday February 3, 2015 at a hospital in Brooklyn, NY. My pre surgical instructions were to:
- Not eat or drink after 12am the night before;
- Bring Someone to pick me up, as I will still be under the after effects of the anesthesia;
- And to take my prednisone (because I have allergies/angeodema and didn't want to have an episode during surgery).
The day of surgery....
- I was super nervous. I was terrified. We made it to the day surgery section of the hospital and after completing a few forms, the doctor took me to the pre-surgery ward and began to explain the precedure again to me.
- I was asked a series of questions about my health history and allergies.
- My clothes, purse and glasses was taken and placed in a locker and I put on a hospital gown and cap.
- I was weighed and my IV was places in the front of my hand.
- I walked to the operating room with 2 surgical nurses and anesthesiologist.
- I laid on a narrow table in the cold operating table and they joked around a little with me and told me to relax.
- They put something in the IV to relax me and it made me feel really "loopy". LOL
- Finally, the anesthesiologist told me to inhale the oxygen mask 2x's..... That's it, I was out! I'm guessing it wasn't really oxygen lol
I was in soooo much pain. If I could rate it on a scale from 1-10, it was a straight 10! I had to ask for meds immediately. The nurses wanted me to sleep for another hour or so and then they suggested I try to sit up. I was given more medication (pills this time) and sip of water.
I was freezing, I asked for a warm blanket. Remember to bring your own Blanket if you elect to have the surgery!
I was so cold, I was shaking. Before long, I was asked to sit in a chair and get dressed.
The nurse asked to see my wound and to check the incision. I had a white wrap that resembled a waist trainer and oh boy, putting that wrap back on was murder.
When I got home, I Slept and relaxed. Be sure to get someone to pick up your prescription before you leave the
hospital! This is important because you will need the pain killer immediate after you get home. With the pain killers, my pain was reduced to about a 4.
Helpful Tips....
- Be sure to ask your doctor for a prescription for stool softeners. The pain killers can constipate you and just in general, you don't want to strain after this surgery.
- Don't bring any valuables to the hospital, although I was given a locker, its still possible for things to disappear.
- Arrange for all of your affairs to be taken care of (bills ect) you are not going to be in any mood to make a bill payment.
- If you have children, have some take care of you and them for at least 3-4 days.
- Don't try to walk up any stairs.
- Have some salt or halls cough drops handy because you will have a sore throat from the ventilator.
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Road to Recovery after Umbilical Hernia Surgery:
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Please excuse the "Baby Belly" lol
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| I was given a new Belly button |
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| The "Pin Hole" to your left is one of the points where the mesh was adhered to the abdominal wall |
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| The dent in the upper right is the another point where the mesh was adhered to the abdominal wall |
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| This incision was created to insert the Laparoscopic tools to preform the surgery 4 weeks post surgery |
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| Laparoscopic tools were places in this incision 3 weeks post surgery |
