Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Hiking Whitney after Inguinal Hernia surgery

Unfortunately, I recently found out that I have an Indirect Inguinal Hernia that requires surgery. I have it planned in the next couple of weeks. My question is; does anyone have any advice or experience with hiking (Whitney or any other mountains) after this type of surgery? for example, recovery time, pain etc. My surgeon and doctor both tell me that I will be back to my old self in about 4 weeks (any input from our board physicians would be most welcome). But neither will comment on strenuous hiking.

I am 48 years old and I have day hiked Whitney via the main trail each year for the past five years sucessfully, taking anywhere from 6 to 8 hours depending on my hiking partner. My permits this year are for August 29th. Is there a chance that I may be back on the trail by then? I don't even care if I summit this year, I would be satisfied with Trail Camp.

I have had three inguinal hernia surgeries in the past six years and my answer is...it depends. My most recent occurred off chair five in powder(one of the few powder days this year)Lincolns Birthday weekend. By the time I got it fixed it was April 13, Friday the 13th. I really didn't feel 100% for exercise for about six weeks. This was my briefest short term recovery, surgery Friday at noon watched the Ducks game on TV that night with only one vicoden and I was at Church Sunday(I drove) and work noon Monday. It just took longer for exercise than in the past. This might be due to this being a repeat surgery on that side.

You have two months from surgery to your hike. I am confident that given time to get back in shape, I could summit by the end of June which would be 10 weeks post surgery. I am in the worst shape of my life at the moment. If you are in decent shape now. I think that you can easily make it to trail camp and likely summit.

Dave

The answer is: it depends. it depends upon what the surgery actually involves. Some are very simple, some a bit complex. It depends upon what one finds, and you don't know until you get in there. Is there scarring, were there previous surgeries, what is the muscle tone, how deep is the fat layer, where do the nerves run, how many blood vessels running through the area have to be destroyed? All these, and many other factors, can determine healing rates. You'll have a much better idea 1 week post-op.

You CAN overdo it, strain the area or even damage it, if you push too hard too fast. Please follow the directions of your surgeon, they are the only one who will have personal knowledge of the insides of you.

Odds are, you'll be ok and can go. But, you'll just have to see how it goes.

g'luck.

I had a bilateral done last November, with two mesh reinforcements installed. It was done from the outside, not laproscopically (Had something else done years ago, so they don't go in twice). The Doc said I couldn't hurt it--just stop doing whatever hurts. He almost guaranteed his mesh job.

If your experience is similar to mine, you should be good to go by August. Get back into your workouts as soon as you can.

By the way, I was diagnosed in the spring, but delayed surgery until November -- didn't want it to interfere with summer fun.

Ken is right- lots of variables. The 4 weeks your MDs suggested is ballpark. Is the surgery traditional or laparoscopic? That makes a big difference. Has the hernia been there a while and not threatening? If so, could surgery be delayed until after the climb? (disclaimer: I did not advise that, only your surgeon can do that). Unfortunately, most of us MDs cannot give accurate "when to climb" advice as most of our patients don't climb mountains! I always send my own orthopedist a postcard when I do things he doesn't expect I can do.(repeat customer)

My first Whitney hike in 1994 came 4 months after knee surgery, a weight bearing joint, obviously different from hernia. I can tell you that after my knee surgeries (and others), that it was good mental therapy to start walking immediately, albeit slowly, and for me it was humping with a brace. It was tremendous psychological relief to do that trip to the mailbox, or first lap, or first set of stairs, or first molehill, and then the next day add one more slow lap, and then another, and another. It really helped my confidence in two ways. First, it let me know I was not a cripple (just looked like one). Second, as I did more, it reassured me I was making progress toward my eventual goal, not waiting for the week before the trip to decide. Same as you. Just like climbing a mountain, one step at a time.

Maybe even ask them about a girdle type support to give support to the healing area???

Hope all goes well. Harvey

What Ken said, lot's of variables on this. In my own experience, I had the open procedure with the Goretex mesh and I started walking the second day post-op, light running at 10 days, and ran the O.C. Marathon at six weeks out (I was already signed up before the injury and had been training). I think your August plans should be fine. In fact, I just hiked up Wotan's Throne a few weeks ago with someone who was six weeks recovered from this op, and he did fine. I'm not sure if he posts here but if he does maybe he can share--Rick? In any case, good luck; six months from now you'll forget you even had the operation .

Hi Wes.

I worked as a nurse in surgery for 10 years and from my experience with post-op patients whom had undergone inguinal hernia repair (lap, open, mesh/no mesh, bilat), it certainly depended upon the patient (especially their health and fitness prior to the procedure). If your pre-op physical condition is good to excellent, I think your doc is right that in about 4 wks you'll be good as new, providing there are no post-op complications such as infection. Just don't rush into anything while you are healing. Take it easy and relax! I just recently (1 yr ago) went through having permanent plate & screws on my collarbone (I pretty much shattered it) and took it easy after surgery, just taking easy walks/hikes, and I had to force myself to stay away from hitting golf balls (I almost started too soon and caused some problems).

Like I always say "listen to your body!"

Good luck on the surgery & YOU'LL BE FINE!

Listen to your body is good advice. Other good advice is to walk a lot as soon as you can, especially walk a lot if it doesn't hurt. I also will say that your surgeon and doctor will almost certainly be too conservative about what you can do, and if they don't say "No, don't hike up Whitney," you are probably good to go.

I knew a couple of guys who in their 40's went Happy Isles to Mammoth starting about 4 weeks after they both had inguinal hernia surgery, one open and one lap. The idea of two guys scheduling their hernia surgery around the same time to make sure they could take their backpack trip together was weird enough to my sister that I think it contributed to her stopping dating one of them, but other than that, I don't think they were affected by doing that 4 weeks after their surgery.

I had a traditional appendectomy some years back around 5 weeks before I was scheduled to start a week long trip that would end with climbing Longs Peak. I started walking as soon as I could and kept walking. I'm sure walking helped my recovery. It probably also helped that I ignored my doctor's advice and played slowpitch softball earlier than he wanted. It was 3 1/2 weeks after the operation and I was playing pitcher and quickly reached up for a ball chopped over my head with my right (glove) hand, and heard and felt some ripping in the area of the incision. I thought, "Oh crap," but then realized I felt better than I had since the operation, most likely having ripped some scar tissue. In fact, within a few minutes, I felt good as new, and felt no effects from the operation ever again, including on my hiking trip.

There are no definitive answers, but so long as your doctor doesn't say no, you will likely be good to go, just listen to your body.

I disagree with Bob T concerning walk as much as you can as soon as possible. Standing on your feet too much too soon tires you out and causes discomfort the next day.

IT DEPENDS ENTIRELY ON HOW YOU FEEL.

I say that from experience. I repeat that my recent recovery was longer than prior due to it being a redo. My surgeon said it was the most difficult hernia repair he had done. He had to cut through scar tissue and old mesh, install four plugs and new mesh. He took the mesh down as low as he could as this recent hernia slipped out below the old mesh.

Listen to your body. I am confident that you will do Whitney as planned, that is unless you start training too soon and too rigorous. You don't want to tear any stitches. I had sex too soon after hernia #2 I thought I was ready and it was not fun.

As far as the repair being done traditionally or via laporoscope, My surgeon says traditional. The opening isn't long, a few inches perhaps four and he can do a proper repair with a good view of the field of repair. The healing is the same internally and after a while the scar isn't noticable.

Thanks for the input everyone. This is exactly why I posed this question, to get a general idea of what to expect. You can ask friends and colleagues but unless they are avid hikers like us, they really can't give a fair assessment on recovery as I am requesting. I realize that everyone's procedure and experience are different and it depends on alot of variables. I just wanted a general idea and I certainly got one, a positive one at that. That is what I wanted to hear.

My surgeon is going to do the traditional method with a mesh. He seems to think that my degree of hernia is not too severe, however it is giving me a bit of discomfort and though I am in pretty fair shape, I feel that I should not do any hiking/climbing until it is repaired. I wish I could put it off like you Steve, but I don't think so.

I am going to take the advice of letting my body and MD tell me how to begin my recovery and go from there. Once I am comfortable with my progress I will attempt some of the local Ventura County mountains here and work my way to the Sierras. I am going to still plan on Whitney in August and hope to see some of you up there. I have a three night reservation at the Dow that week and I'm gonna go and hang out in Lone Pine, hike or not! You can find me at Seasons!