Ventral Incisional Hernia Repair

@demooretucson, what a blow to require incisionial hernia surgery after successful bile duct resection and reattachment for cholangiocarcinoma. It sounds like the incisional hernia repair was successful but now you would like to hear from others who have gone through it and what recovery is like. I'm tagging fellow members who had surgery either due to cancer or liver transplant like @kimia2000 @jackie421blfdgurl @cehunt57 @footballmum, who can share more about their experiences and what you might expect.

@demooretucson, when was the repair surgery? How are you doing at this point?

I have an umbilical hernia as a result of colorectal surgery. It is rather extensive and my experienced and trusted surgeon and oncologist tell me that it is repairable, but that the hernia will return. Has anyone dealt with a similar problem?

@colleenyoung

Colleen -- Thanks for the response and possible connections. Robot-assisted hernia repair was on 5/20/26. Planned for 3 hours but took 5 hours because surgeon unexpectedly found abdominal linings (facia others) were like "Swiss cheese" which required 2 hours of repair before he could successfully complete the repair with mesh. He believes that neoadjuvant radiation (28 days) and chemo (10 biweekly sessions) turned my abdominal lining into "Swiss cheese." 5 weeks after hernia repair my daily energy level is back to 90% and I'm doing 45-60 minutes of light walking/biking 5 times a week.

I am going to Mayo this week Thursday 9/24/26 for a “Swiss Cheese” ventral incisional hernia repair, although mine is not cancer related. I do hope your repair is holding up well. Thank you for posting the information.

Jogborn -- Mayo is the right place to go to include their pain management team. Hopefully your repair will be straightforward. My unexpected "Swiss Cheese" was unique to my situation and complicated things significantly, especially the recovery which took days rather than hours in the hospital. Good luck and please let me know how it goes.

Dan

@jogborn Hi and welcome to Mayo Connect. How have you been feeling overall?

@jogborn, thinking of you as you recovery from surgery. I look forward to an update when you're able.

@colleenyoung Thank you! I’m still here in a room at Mayo. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to do the surgery robotically because of the amount of scar tissue, so it ended up being an open surgery with mesh.

I developed a hematoma around the incision area, and the drain they had placed became plugged with a clot. I ended up going back in for a quick procedure this morning to take care of the hematoma.

It all came about pretty quickly, and I was a little nervous about going under anesthesia a second time, especially with the possibility of being on clear liquids longer while waiting for everything to wake back up, so to speak.

Through all of it, though, the staff here at Mayo Clinic has been absolutely stellar. I couldn’t ask for better care.

Jogborn -- Appreciate the update and details. I trust this post finds you on the mend! Glad you're getting prompt and competent medical care. For you and me both this type of surgery got complicated very quickly.

Dan

@ap47
I have two incisional hernias one which contains bowel which appeared 11 years ago following colon cancer op and following hysterectomy 10 years later using same scar. I am due for repair using mesh with keyhole. I am very anxious as I also have bile reflux and fear this surgery is going to make it worse. Have you had the op yet?