Hernia Repair Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a hernia repair, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Damage to neighboring organs or structures (eg, intestine or bladder)
• Infection
• Bleeding
• Scarring
• Pneumonia and other risks of general anesthesia

Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Having neurological, heart, or lung conditions
• Age: older than 70 years
• Obesity
• Smoking
• Active infection

Call Your Doctor

After arriving home, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or any discharge from the incision site
• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medicines you were given after surgery, or which persist for more than two days after discharge from the hospital
• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given
• Pain, burning, urgency or frequency of urination, or persistent bleeding in the urine
• Excessive tenderness or swelling
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain

In case of an emergency, call 911.