Instructions After Hernia Surgery

Your Incision(s)

You may notice pain, swelling, and/or bruising at your incision (where the surgeon cut your skin to perform surgery) and/or at the spot where your hernia used to be. The swelling and bruising may begin 1-4 days after surgery, and will typically go away within 2 weeks after surgery. Ice for the first 48 hours after surgery can help to reduce this.

Below are more detailed instructions, based on the type of surgery you underwent:

After Open (not Laparoscopic) Inguinal (Groin) Hernia Repair

For Men

You may have dark purple bruises at your groin, penis, scrotum, and/or upper thigh. Do not be alarmed. This is just body fluid resulting from your hernia repair that is being pulled down by gravity toward these organs. The dark color is usually noticeable 3-5 days after surgery and goes away within 2 weeks. No treatment is necessary.
You may have swelling of your groin or scrotum. At your incision in the groin, you may notice a “healing ridge”, which is a line of firm scar tissue under your incision. This is normal and will take over 6 weeks to soften. The scrotum may feel heavy and full of fluid. This is usually seen if you had a large noticeable hernia prior to surgery. This swelling is fluid that is now filling the empty space that your hernia used to take up. It will go away within 2 weeks. Wearing support underwear such as briefs, as opposed to boxers, may help. Bicycle shorts may also be helpful. When sitting, you can also try propping up the scrotum with a small towel. Lifting the scrotum encourages the fluid to drain back toward your heart. The bruising and swelling does not affect sexual function.

For Women

You may have dark reddish-purple “bruises” at your groin and labia, toward your vagina. Do not be alarmed. This is just body fluid resulting from your hernia repair that is pulled down by gravity toward these organs. The dark color is usually noticeable 3-5 days after surgery and goes away within 2 weeks. No treatment is necessary. At your incision in the groin, you may notice a “healing ridge”, which is a line of firm scar tissue under your incision. This is normal and will take over 6 weeks to soften. Your groin area will then resume normal sensation.

After Laparoscopic Inguinal (Groin) Hernia Repair

For Men

Most pain is at the belly button (umbilicus), at the site of an incision through the tissues.

You may have dark purple “bruises” at your groin, penis, scrotum. Do not be alarmed. This is just body fluid from your hernia repair that is being pulled down by gravity toward these organs. The dark color is usually noticeable 3-5 days after surgery and goes away within 2 weeks. No treatment is necessary.

You may have swelling of your groin or scrotum. The scrotum may feel heavy and full of fluid. This is usually seen if you had a large noticeable hernia prior to surgery. This swelling is fluid that is now filling the empty space that your hernia used to take up. It will go away within 2 weeks. Wearing support underwear such as briefs, as opposed to boxers, may help. Bicycle shorts may also be helpful. When sitting, you can also try propping up the scrotum with a small towel. Lifting the scrotum encourages the fluid to drain back toward your heart.

The bruising and swelling does not affect sexual function.

For Women

Most pain is at the belly button (umbilicus) where you had a cut through the tissues.

You may have dark reddish-purple “bruises” at your groin and labia, toward your vagina. Do not be alarmed. This is just body fluid from your hernia repair that is pulled down by gravity toward these organs. The dark color is usually noticeable 3-5 days after surgery and goes away within 2 weeks. No treatment is necessary.

After Umbilical, Epigastric, Abdominal Hernia Repair

You may have bruising and/or swelling at the area(s) of your incision. This is expected and usually resolves on its own.

There may be blood staining of your dressing or wound strips. This is blood left over from the surgery. No treatment is necessary.

When to Call After Surgery

  • Pain that is not relieved by medication.
  • Nausea for longer than 1 hour
  • Vomiting
  • Fever greater than 101°F
  • Redness, warmth, and worsening pain at the incisions
  • Purulent (pus) drainage from any incision
  • Difficulty urinating or burning when you urinate
  • Watery diarrhea, more than 3 times a day

To speak to the On-Call Physician, please call: (310) 358-5020