Scar tissue after Liver transplant

The hernia surgery was 8 hours and complicated. It has worked out well and all is good. Thanks for asking. Tom

Hi, Tom, @bogietopar. I want to commend you for being alert to your increasing symptoms and for advocating for yourself when you 'knew' that this was more than scar tissue. This is something that we all, will want to emulate. Our health with our organ continues to be a team effort!

Tom, I'm curious about how you are feeling now that the hernia has been repaired. What are some changes /activities that you are now able to enjoy again?

@david4stgh I want to notify you of Tom's experience. Have you any updates to share or any progress in getting a diagnosis?

My transplant was just over three years ago. I was told to expect scar tissue to drop down and it seemed to do that. After several months and several different medical opinions, I was told it would dissipate and become smaller. I then advised the doctor that it was sometimes hard, sometimes soft and it could hear liquid. It was a hernia. It has been repaired and had grown quite large. Tom

@david4stgh, Hi and Welcome to Connect. Be assured that you are not late to arrive because our support groups are constantly growing and you are welcome to read and join in anywhere. You can even direct a question or comment to a particular member by including their @name in your reply or comment.
I, too, have a liver and kidney transplant so I am especially happy to meet you. Mine was 15 years ago at Mayo Rochester due to Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). I only had some scar tissue concerns during my 1st year when I began to overdo some of my activities at the gym, and that was easily corrected by a less aggressive approach. Have you begun any new or aggressive exercises or activities recently?

Here is another support discussion:
- Severe scar tissue after liver transplant: Any adivce?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/severe-scar-tissue-after-liver-transplant/Severe scar tissue after liver transplant: Any adivce?

Have you spoken to your transplant team about this recent increase in your ongoing scar tissue discomfort?

Hi All,
I appear lete to this discussion.
I am a liver and kidney transplant patient six-years out.
Kidney on right side.
It has only been the last few moonths that my scar tissue is really causing me discomfort,
I know it has been there all along, but seems to have kicked up its intensity of discomfort
in the last few months.
I will try some of the suggestion posted on this discusssion board,
Thank you.

Thanks!! My donor is my wife’s best friend since birth, so 54 years and I’ve know her for 38 years.

She didn’t ask the transplant team, but that’s a great idea. No specific link but there are different instructions and videos, not sure which ones are good or not.

@dlovdahl - Four months. Congratulations! That's a special event and sign of progress. That's great news about meeting with your donor! Was this a first meeting?
Was the transplant team okay with you massaging the scar tissue? Did they have any advice about it?

Do you have a link to the massage instructions that you could post?

Hi,

Just had my four month checkup after a kidney transplant and my angle donor was there also. She mentioned that while at a massage they spent the session working he scar and it felt better, lost some of the numbness around the scar and still feels better. I Googled it and found some simple instructions but haven’t tried it yet.

Rosemary, other than scar tissue everything else is going well. My creative number is a little high and they believe the liver rejection medicine can cause this. I thank you for asking. Regards, Tom

Tom, I was so hoping to hear that there was some improvement. This must be discouraging but hopefully it is temporary. 🤞

I can understand saying no to surgery! After all transplant surgery is a big deal and none of us want a repeat if we can avoid it.

For what it’s worth, I ‘had’ to have a surgery a year after my transplant. I had developed sepsis due to a slipped bile duct that kinked. It needed to be fixed. It was a quick surgery, with a quick recovery, and incision was a short one along my transplant incision scar… and glued no staples or stitches on outside!

Tom, other than this bulge, how is your transplant recovery and post transplant living going?