Signs You May Have a Surgical Hernia Mesh Infection

There are many side effects of hernia surgery with mesh, such as fatigue and pain. There are many other surgical hernia mesh complications, however, that are much more serious. One of the most severe is an infection that can spread throughout the body. If you have had a surgery that involved the use of surgical mesh, mesh patches, or a hernia mesh device, please be alert to the signs an infection may be developing.

Symptoms You Need to Be Aware

Unlike most infections, one that involves surgical mesh or hernia mesh can be extremely difficult to treat. They usually can’t be cured by simply using antibiotics – in many cases, the infected device has to be surgically removed (called mesh revision surgery). This, as you can well imagine, is an extremely painful surgery that will usually lead to an extended hospital stay and sometimes the removal of a significant amount of tissue. But you might be able to avoid major problems if you spot the signs and symptoms at the start of an infection and get to your doctor early enough.

Be on the lookout for the following symptoms of a mesh infection:

• Inflammation – If your abdomen continues to be tender and/or painful long after your surgery, that could be a sign of inflammation caused by an infection.
• Pain in the groin area – About half of all hernia surgery patients experience pain in the groin area. But if yours becomes so severe that it interferes with your daily activity, that could mean the mesh device used in your procedure has caused an infection that is leading to nerve damage.
• Feeling like you have the flu – You might also be developing an infection if you continually experience chills, nausea or fever, or you vomit regularly.