Anyone done Disney post-hernia repair surgery?

[themilesfamily]

This is a heck of a topic for my 1000th Disboard post, but it looks like I'm going in for a hernia repair at the beginning of August. And we were planning a Disney trip at the end of the September. That's about 1 1/2 to 2 months of recuperation time.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you do on rides such as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? Are those out of the question after a hernia repair? (Mine is around the belly button area.)

Sheesh -- I got plantar fasciitis and passed a kidney stone one week before our last Disney trip, now this. Clearly I'm the picture of health!

 

[Cinderella94]

I think that's enough time for you to recover. My dad recently had a hernia operation, and after 2-3ish weeks he was fine. But, if your surgery was closer to your trip-Splash, Space, Big Thunder, Dinosaur, etc would DEFINITELY have been out of the question.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

This thread is a better fit for the disABILITIES! board. You should get some helpful responses here.

 

[Twende]

I had an umbilical hernia repair and about three weeks after surgery I was pretty much back to my normal routine.

I would think six weeks would be plenty of time to heal!

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Ask your surgeon!!!

A few years ago I had to have a kidney removed. Afterwards my surgeon told me that it was OK to go to the parks but for the next six months any attraction which had warnings for pregnant women, people with bad backs, or people with heart conditions also applied to me.

And about 3.5 months later I went to DisneyLand and could ride nothing at DCA (which was new) except Soarin'.

 

[themilesfamily]

Thanks for the responses. I see my surgeon on Monday morning, so I'll get some more info then.

I've been checking on the internet to see recovery times for hernia repair and I've seen everything from, "I felt great in a week" to "six years later it still hurts!"

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I am in the midst of this myself. I also had the surgery 11 yers ago and now this is coming back to haunt me. I wouldnt even think about riding anything bumpy etc. Also forget dinosaur as the ba rj ust comes down too tight on you etc. You really wouldnt want to ruin any of the work your surgeon did etc. The roughest thing I go on now is the Safari.

Can I ask what implant you have etc. You can pm me if you dont want to post it publicly. Right now I have alloderm but its only temporary and he is going to put a permanent one in later on, hence holding up our disney trip too, but hopefully we will go in dec. if all is well. I have read on the internet about surgisis gold. TIA

 

[themilesfamily]

I just met with my surgeon this morning. He said I have a pretty straight forward hernia above my belly button. But there is another lump above it that concerns him -- could either be another hernia or something else. So I'm going in for a CAT scan this afternoon. I'll get the results of that on Friday and at that time, I guess we'll make some decisions about what to do.

I'm actually thinking of postponing the surgery now until after the trip. The first few days after I got the hernia it was extremely painful around my midsection. Now I don't feel anything unless you push on the actual hernia.

I guess the question is, can I do all of the walking I'd like to do with the hernia not repaired. I'm going to have to see how the next few days go. The doc said that, PRE-REPAIR, I could do rollercoasters and any type of exercise without injuring myself -- he said just avoid doing things that hurt. (Well, walking, standing, rollercoasters that press on my abdomen -- those things could potentially hurt.)

I'll post back again on Friday when I find out more.

We haven't talked yet about what kind of implant will be used. I've read quite a bit about the mesh they use -- but not specific types or brands.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I flew after a hysterectomy I had surgery on Oct 5 we went to Disney Nov 17. We had planned for lots of breaks but surprisingly I did all 5 parks without any issues.
What I will tell you is that as soon as you get on the plan ask for a pillow. Place the pillow against your stomache and then fasten the seat belt over the pillow. I will be much softer against the incision.