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How many here developed an inguinal hernia after Prostate surgery?

Posted by tomf @tomf, Jul 5, 2023

My wife was tyrannical making sure I did not overexert for my first 6 weeks post op and even then I was very careful not to overdo. Yet I developed an inguinal hernia anyway. The studies show this happens about 15-20% of the time depending on the surgery being robotic or open. Was I just unlucky or did many of you develop inguinal hernias too? And if you developed one, did you follow up with surgery to repair it?

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philipsnowdon | @philipsnowdon | Jan 19, 2024
In reply to @tomf "It's been almost a year since my RALP surgery and two days ago I had my..." + (show)
@tomf

It's been almost a year since my RALP surgery and two days ago I had my right inguinal hernia repaired laparoscopically. It went well and recovery is smooth so far. I am writing for a few reasons. First, I truly believe the hernia, which didn't exist before the surgery was at least partially caused by the prostatectomy ( input of gas, rummaging around, who knows?) but no one wants to own up to it. That's understandable, and a fair trade off to get rid of the cancer. Second, the surgery is harder for the doctor because of the scar tissue left behind after the prostate removal. But my surgeon was experienced and prepared for it. Third is the effect so far on my incontinence.... the surgery may have helped me somehow. Maybe it is because I am very carefully standing and sitting and moving around, but I have been drier these last two days than any of the last 12 months. Now I must admit I was doing well in Pelvic floor therapy prior to pausing it this week and I had progressed quite a bit on the road to dryness. But I am wondering if the added mesh support down there is helping somehow. Perhaps my bladder is aligned in a better position now? I have my fingers crossed and wonder if any of you experienced this too?

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Hello,
I already had an inguinal hernia on my right side before my RALP was performed on 10/25/23. The surgery definitely exacerbated my hernia. I have a torn hip labrum on the other side. I’ve avoided surgery on both by getting steroid shots every 4 to 8 months to control the pain and discomfort. Due to some other long term disabilities, I’ve not been able to do any exercise or other athletic activities other than walking. As a result, I don’t physically stress the hernia or hip labrum like I would if I was participating in some sporting or other athletic activities. If I was in that arena I would have had corrective surgeries done long ago!
Best wishes

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edinmaryland | @edinmaryland | Apr 9 5:42pm

I had robotic prostratectomy January 15 2025. I now may have an inguinal hernia. I had this same hernia repaired maybe 30 years ago. I checked out the research and it indicates that perhaps 10% may have this.
What determines whether re-catheritization is required??

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tomf | @tomf | Apr 9 6:19pm

My surgeon felt catheterization was not necessary because I was reasonably continent especially while horizontal.

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tjm53 | @tjm53 | Apr 10 4:38am

I developed an “indirect left inguinal hernia” 12 months post robotic prostatectomy. Had an open repair done a few weeks ago. Plug and mesh. Cleared for light upper body workouts at two weeks and body weight only for lower. About 50% effort until I hit the 6 week mark.

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edinmaryland | @edinmaryland | Apr 10 4:45am

thanks I sure do not want to go through that again

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heavyphil | @heavyphil | Apr 10 6:38am
In reply to @tjm53 "I developed an “indirect left inguinal hernia” 12 months post robotic prostatectomy. Had an open repair..." + (show)
@tjm53

I developed an “indirect left inguinal hernia” 12 months post robotic prostatectomy. Had an open repair done a few weeks ago. Plug and mesh. Cleared for light upper body workouts at two weeks and body weight only for lower. About 50% effort until I hit the 6 week mark.

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Hey tjm, what’s the “plug” part of that surgery? Curious since I may need to repair an umbilical incisional hernia. Thanks!
Phil

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2 replies
topf | @topf | Apr 10 7:06am

This sounds scary going into surgery. How common are hernias post-RARP?

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tjm53 | @tjm53 | Apr 10 7:15am
In reply to @heavyphil "Hey tjm, what’s the “plug” part of that surgery? Curious since I may need to repair..." + (show)
@heavyphil

Hey tjm, what’s the “plug” part of that surgery? Curious since I may need to repair an umbilical incisional hernia. Thanks!
Phil

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So far I only know what I googled. I have my post op next week and that is one of my questions also.
I’ll get back to you afterwards.

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1 reply
tomf | @tomf | Apr 10 9:45am
In reply to @tjm53 "So far I only know what I googled. I have my post op next week and..." + (show)
@tjm53

So far I only know what I googled. I have my post op next week and that is one of my questions also.
I’ll get back to you afterwards.

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When I told my prostate surgeon about my upcoming inguinal hernia over a year ago, the first words out of his mouth were " I didn't cause that". Understandably defensive position. I'm not sure how data would be collected on this. No one ever followed up with me about possible causes.

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edinmaryland | @edinmaryland | Apr 11 9:48am

1 Postoperative IH occurred in 39 (7.5%) of 558 groins. from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6979555/

2.We included 54 studies with a total of 101,687 patients. The estimated incidence of inguinal hernia was 13.7% (95% CI 12.0–15.4) after open retropubic radical prostatectomy, 7.5% (95% CI 5.2–9.8) after laparoscopic radical prostatectomy and 7.9% (95% CI 5.0–10.9) after robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. from https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/JU.0000000000000313

3Post-robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) inguinal hernias, though less common than in open prostatectomy, still occur with a reported incidence of 4% to 20%. These hernias are often indirect, developing within 2-3 years post-surgery. While RARP generally has fewer complications, the placement of port sites and specimen extraction can contribute to hernia formation

more than I expected

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