Hernia Mesh Pain: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment Options

Some mild pain and discomfort are expected for a few days following hernia mesh surgery. However, pain lasting three months or more (or beyond the expected healing period, which varies by type of hernia and repair) or that appears months or years after your surgery is not normal. If you experience unexpected types or durations of pain, seek immediate medical attention.

Chronic pain after a hernia mesh surgery isn’t the same for everyone. For instance, some may experience a burning or stabbing sensation in the groin. Or, it may hurt when walking, sitting or wearing tight clothes. Some people feel like something foreign is inside them.

The chronic pain caused by hernia mesh surgery can make sleeping and physical intimacy difficult, leading to stress and frustration.

As many as 10% to 12% of patients may experience chronic groin pain after inguinal hernia mesh repair due to operation-related or mesh-related factors, according to research published in the journal Hernia.

Some patients begin to experience chronic and debilitating hernia mesh pain years later. The late Dr. Robert Bendavid, a Shouldice Hospital surgeon specializing in hernia repair, noted that this pain can persist for years in some patients. According to Bendavid, “If a patient has had a mesh inserted already, half the time, they will develop a pain problem in about five years or up to 17 years.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists pain among the most common hernia mesh complications. Injury, disability, adhesions and other painful complications can also occur.
Hernia mesh pain, in some cases, may require you to have the hernia mesh removed and further surgery to repair your hernia. Hernia mesh pain and revision surgery have been listed in complaints in hernia mesh lawsuits.

As of April 2025, 34,347 hernia mesh lawsuits have been filed in multiple multidistrict litigations (MDLs) in the United States. MDLs allow several similar lawsuits to be combined in a single litigation to speed up the legal process.

Hernia mesh pain can result from various factors connected to the surgery or the mesh itself. Nerve damage is more commonly attributed to the surgery. The type of surgery or the mesh used, its material, hole size and attachment method can also cause pain.

You could be more likely to develop chronic pain after an inguinal hernia repair if you have risk factors like previous hernia surgeries, a genetic predisposition or being young or female. An open surgical technique may also put you at higher risk for chronic pain.

Bendavid explained that the hernia mesh’s properties often cause hernia mesh pain years after the surgery and that mesh manufacturers have downplayed the risks. He emphasized that hernia mesh lawsuits in U.S. courts are further evidence of mesh-related health problems or injuries.

“The most common cause of mesh pain is the mesh itself. Polypropylene mesh has a tendency to erode into adjacent tissues,” Bendavid said.

Several other factors can contribute to chronic or severe hernia mesh-related pain.

The type of mesh used can also affect your chances of suffering chronic pain. A 2018 study in the International Surgery Journal compared heavy-weight and light-weight mesh (strictly used during open, not laparoscopic, hernia repair).

Researchers found that of those treated with heavy mesh, about 35% experienced moderate pain, while 65% felt only mild pain. In contrast, patients who received light-weight mesh had much lower pain levels. About 10% reported moderate pain, and 90% experienced low levels of pain.

Chronic pain after hernia mesh surgery may feel sharp, burning, dull or aching and can be triggered by specific movements. Sometimes, the pain is localized to one spot (trigger point pain). Other times, it radiates along a nerve pathway.

If you experience chronic pain, the cause may not always be clear. However, there are some specific signs that your pain might be the result of your hernia mesh surgery if the issues occur at or near the surgical site.

A systemic reaction could be harder to connect directly to your hernia mesh. Talk to your doctor about the possibility of a hernia mesh reaction if you experience a rash, unexpected headaches, dizziness, chronic fatigue or other new or persistent ailments.

When to See a Doctor

If the pain gets worse, spreads to other areas, or doesn’t get better within the healing time specified by your healthcare provider, it’s essential to see a doctor.

You should also pay attention to any tingling, numbness or changes in how you go to the bathroom or if you have pain or burning after sex. Ongoing pain could mean a problem with the nerves, the implant shifting, your body reacting to the mesh or other factors.

Getting checked out by a medical professional early on is key to avoiding more serious issues and determining the best treatment for you.

Doctors diagnose hernia mesh-related pain through a combination of patient-reported symptoms, clinical evaluation and imaging studies.

Patient-Reporting and Clinical Evaluation Diagnosis

Your practitioner can determine the best route to diagnosis between your reporting and a clinical evaluation. The exam can also be affected by the type of hernia and treatment you had.

Be sure to give your doctor a thorough update on what challenges you’re experiencing, including the locations and type of pain as well as effects on your quality of life.

In addition to basic exam methods like taking your vital signs, your doctor may look closely at where you are experiencing pain. They might use a marker to indicate where your pain is and is not occurring to create a “map” to the pain. Less often, doctors might use tests that involve using cold, pressure and pinpricks to further determine the cause.

Diagnosing Hernia Mesh Pain With Nerve Blocks

Doctors may also use nerve blocks to pinpoint the source of your chronic pain and rule out other culprits. This could help determine if a mesh failure is causing it.

A nerve block is an injection of a local anesthetic near targeted nerves. It temporarily numbs the area and relieves pain. Doctors use it to determine if nerve irritation, damage or scarring from hernia mesh is causing chronic pain.

If the nerve block significantly reduces pain, it may indicate that the affected nerves are part of the problem. However, this isn’t a foolproof method as local anesthetics have limitations, and certain symptoms like fibrosis or inflammation could affect efficacy. Your doctor will likely use multiple diagnostic methods.

When hernia mesh causes chronic pain, doctors may try conservative treatments first to manage symptoms before considering whether to remove the mesh. Conservative therapies aim to reduce pain, fight infections or relieve pressure from the repair.

If these methods don’t work, hernia mesh removal might be necessary to address ongoing discomfort and improve quality of life.

Conservative Treatments

Conservative treatments for hernia mesh pain involve leaving the mesh inside your body and focusing on treating the specific cause of your pain. This may focus on treating an infection, draining fluids or relieving pressure on the hernia repair.

When Is Hernia Mesh Removal Necessary?

Hernia mesh removal is often necessary when conservative treatments fail or the mesh degenerates, causing complications like chronic pain or infection. However, surgery may not remove all of the mesh due to changes in its structure.

Occasionally, patients may have systemic reactions from a hernia mesh implant. Signs can include rashes, edema and arthralgia (joint pain), among others. Hernia mesh removal is standard when this occurs.

If hernia mesh causes ongoing pain, removing it might improve your quality of life. The surgery varies based on the mesh’s placement and other factors unique to you, but doctors take care to avoid damaging surrounding tissue.

Your doctor will send you home with post-surgical instructions. Recovery tends to take four to six weeks, during which time you should get plenty of rest. You might be allowed to engage in light activities in only a couple of weeks, but your permissions may vary.

Removing mesh can be effective, but it also involves some risks. These risks depend on your health, the mesh location and the surgical method. You need to discuss potential complications with your doctor before choosing to have the surgery.

Many mesh removal procedures are done in an outpatient setting, allowing you to go home the same day. However, some may require a short hospital stay.

In addition to the symptoms and impacts on quality of life detailed above, people who have chronic pain after hernia mesh surgery often experience difficulties with their mental and emotional well-being.

For instance, a 2022 study in the journal Hernia also found that significant numbers of hernia surgery patients with chronic pain showed symptoms of various mental health conditions.

Additionally, 70% of people in the study showed behaviors related to “pain catastrophizing.” This means that they ruminated on and overestimated the likelihood of the worst possible results of their current situation.

However, not everyone experiences chronic pain after hernia mesh surgery, and there are ways to help ensure you don’t experience the worst effects. For instance, you could ask for more education about your procedure and the pain itself.

A 2025 study published in Nature Scientific Reports found multimodal analgesia (a combination of medications from different groups) was necessary for positive outcomes and was even more effective when combined with comprehensive peri-operative pain neuroscience education (PNE). PNE involves teaching patients about the mental and physical aspects of pain before and after inguinal hernia surgery.

Patients who learned about how pain works reported feeling less pain and anxiety during their recovery compared to those who didn’t receive this information. PNE was also found to help patients understand their pain and learn how to cope with it, leading to a better overall experience after surgery.

Managing Pain Day-to-day

You should expect some degree of pain following hernia mesh surgery. To manage this pain effectively, you should first have a check-up to ensure there are no other problems. You should also be on the alert for signs that your pain has become chronic.