You had your hernia repaired and you are on your way home from the surgery center. You are hot and sweaty from the car ride. Your skin is itchy from the betadine skin prep, and you are starting to smell. You have a box of baby wet wipes, but you really want a shower. Is it safe to get naked and jump in the shower?

After your surgery, the body immediately starts the healing process. After 12 hours, the skin is healed enough to prevent bacteria from entering through the incision. So 12 hours after your hernia repair feel free to take off the gauze and the tape and take a shower. Soap will not hurt the incision.

Afterward, you can leave the incision open to the air. If there is some drainage, put a fresh bandage on overnight.

Only one person in the shower with you until you feel…

It Would Be Nice everyone’s body was exactly the same on the inside. That way it a surgeon would always know where important structures were located and therefore during surgery, these vital structures could be quickly identified and protected. But the human body makes its own decisions and does not always follow the rules found in the anatomy books.

During hernia repairs, the nerves are the structure most commonly in the “wrong place”.
In the anatomy books, the genital nerve usually is on the posterior aspect of the cord, but it can be found on the floor of the inguinal canal or along the inguinal ligament. The Ilioinguinal nerve usually runs on the anterior aspect of the spermatic cord, but it can run along the internal oblique muscle. The iliohypogastric nerve usually runs along the anterior aspect of the internal oblique muscle, but it can be found traveling within the…