hernia operation?

[Best Aunt]

Dad just told me that he's having a hernia operation tomorrow. Can anyone tell me what to expect? I'll have to help out. All he said is that it's local anesthesia, not general, and he'll be sent home a few hours later.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Just probably help him to the car (they'll probably take him to the car in a wheel chair, standard policy) then, help him into the house to the couch or bed. He'll probably need to be basically in bed or on the couch for at least about 3 or 4 days.

 

[tvguy]

I had a hernia repair about 15 years ago, expected to have to go to the hospital, have spend a couple nights there.
Not anymore. Everything is outpatient. I checked in at the surgery center at 9 am, I was in the car going home at 12:30 pm. Took a couple of hours to get over the anesthia, took one codine pain pill, tylenol was enough after that to handle pain and swelling.
I just couldn't lift anything for 6 weeks as I recall. I had surgery on Wednesday and was back at work on Monday.

 

[Meriweather]

I've had 7........about 2-2 1/2 hours each. Felt fine the first day. Day 2 was the hardest.
Only used Tylenol, the codeine made me feel weird, so I opted to skip it.
No lifting......be strict on that.

 

[golfgal]

I can't imagine a hernia repair with only a local . I had an umbilical one done when I was in college. The worst part is shaking off the anesthesia. I was sore the next day, needed to roll to my side then push up off the couch/mattress to get up. It got better each day. Once I was "up" it wasn't so bad. After about 3 days I felt fine but couldn't lift anything over 10 lbs for a month.

 

[heart4pooh]

I must have had a bad experience. I couldn't move out of bed for two days without my husband lifting me up. I had my 2 c-section scar adhesions cleaned up while he was in there and he put in a mesh that I could feel whenever I moved in bed. I was on pain pills for 5 straight days. I thought guys had it even worse. You learn something new everyday...

 

[Best Aunt]

Thanks for the replies.

Dad said he was feeling absolutely no pain at the hospital. I got him home, and warned him that the second day could be worse than the first. I filled his prescriptions, then had to figure out which was which because the hospital explained them to us using brand name, but the pharmacy filled them with generics.

I also picked up a bag of ice at the grocery store, because he's supposed to ice the area, but the ice maker on his freezer is broken.