Donor: Sensitive skin after abdominal surgery: How long will it last?

@kmprisant, thank you for donating your kidney. I'm tagging fellow donors like @mauraacro @danhoe @tasher3433 @sameeh123 @icohen525 and @lwilkey to add their thoughts about your question.

Kmprisant, have you talked to your donor/transpant team about the skin sensitivity you're experiencing? Do you have any other unexpected recovery issues?

Oh, geez. My husband is the recipient, my daughter, the donor. The only comments I heard re sensitive skin is that nerve endings were cut, and may take 3-6 months to calm down. I’m thinking of you. Hold steady.

I'm in same situation, after 2 x abdominal aorta aneurysm, 2 evar endovascular surgery, and finally to increase blood flow to feet, Axillofemoral bypass (which I very strongly warn against).
My skin burning even nothing touch it, wear jeans pants impossible. Put on socks and shoes very painful.
Doctors in 2 private hospital gave me
* Pletaal 100 mg. Should easy pain when walking and also touch pain. After 2 months no improvement. All different pain remains.
Doctors give morphine MST 30mg for stomach pain, but neither this or tramadol 100 mg help.
8 months since first AAA surgery, and 3 months since the last, no improvement.
I very softly touch massage my thighs feet, but this is said to be a long term possible improvement.
Still sleepless nights, wake up each time one foot touch the other. So hypersensitive one can be after multiple surgeries, and maybe the culprit in my case:
Axillofemoral bypass.
'Multiple nerve damages', maybe forever, says both doctors, of which one is a professor surgeon.
I will continue my soft massage as much I can.
Maybe in a few years there will be less sensitivity.
I don't have trust or faith in the medical professionals anymore.

I'm so glad to have found this post. I am experiencing the same i.e. skin sensitivity in abdominal area which is not limited to immediately around the incision wounds. It feels just as you describe when I touch it i.e. like sunburn. Did it eventually go away and if so, how long did it take?

Good morning
I had a liver transplant in 2020. 2 more abdominal surgeries 3 weeks post transplant. And followed by hernia surgery in 2022. I too experience skin sensitivity. I describe it as my incision area is very "angry"😡 To this day I can't wear jammies with buttons. Or anything heavy. Ex: laying on your back and having the bedding touch the area. I can't wear anything tight fitting and if I'm in the sun, that area gets extremely itchy. I've never mentioned it to anyone. I just feel it's a small sacrifice for my miracle. I just live with it. But that is just me. Good luck and Thank you for your sacrifice. You truly are an Angel on earth. 😇🪽

Hi, @bobby123. I am glad that you have found - and joined Mayo Connect. I am a liver and kidney transplant recipient from 2009, and it was a long time ago that I had any discomfort in my abdomen related to my transplant surgery. The discomfort of sensitive skin gradually eased for me. I don't remember it as being a burning sensation, but rather a numbness that felt really odd to me if I rubbed my hand over the area. Loose clothing, which I choose to wear was like a wispy almost tickly feeling. And anything tight or in the least way restrictive was a no-no for a while. I was lucky to be in recovery during the summertime!
I could not feel a clear boundary for these feelings, it was just there.
After i asked my transplant team about it, I learned that some muscles and nerves had been, so it was a normal thing to experience. I applied lotion because my skin was peeling.
It did go away, or at least my awareness went away as it has become my new normal. Now I don't even notice it.
Bobby, How long ago was your surgery? Do you wear tight clothing (pant waistband, belt)? Have you tried lotion?

Hi Rosemary

Surgery was four weeks ago. I do not notice when loose fitting clothing is simply sitting on the skin, but when I put on a tight fitting top within days of surgery I had to remove it almost immediately due to the sunburn feeling. I've not tried again since but noticed the sensitivity again when simply gently touching the skin. I'm not concerned now I know that's it's not uncommon and it will likely dissipate over time. However, I'll see what happens when applying lotion over the next few days.