Are my stitches strong enough to withhold some coughing? TT with muscle repair + hernia repair

Question

I am 2 weeks postop. I got a cold, unfortunately, and my cough is getting so much worse. If I am in a vertical position, I am coughing forcefully every 5-10 minutes. How do I get through this without compromising my surgery? Recovery has been beyond awful and I am not doing revision surgery. It'll be what it'll be, don't care about how it looks anymore. What are my chances and anything I can do? How do I know if the stitches came apart? Thanks!

Vishnu Rumalla, MD · Answer

Thanks for your inquiry and sorry for your struggles. I suggest you see your doctor to be examined and make sure you are healing well and do not have anything more serious like pneumonia, bronchitis, etc.  If your surgeon is comfortable, they should be able to recommend treatment accordingly.  Some surgeons may feel that they need to get your primary doctor involved, up to your surgeon.

Vasdev Rai, MD · Answer

Strong cough can break stitches.  However it takes a lot to do that. However your cough needs to be investigated. Call your surgeon. Sometimes cough is indicative of serious medical issues.

Lori H. Saltz, MD (retired) · Answer

I can imagine how miserable you must be! It depends on what suture your surgeon used to repair your muscles. The sutures are pretty strong and will usually withstand some coughing. The more important question in my mind is why are you coughing? If you have a dry cough I would recommend a cough syrup with codeine in it. Your throat may just be irritated and the more coughing you do, the more irritated it gets leading to more coughing. Tylenol with codeine will work, too if you are still taking pain medications. Codeine is the only thing that truly suppresses a cough according to the ENT doctor I consulted about my own cough. If you are coughing up phlegm you need to be evaluated for an infection and given antibiotics. Either way you need to get that cough resolved. I am sure you will feel better about the procedure once this is resolved.

Are my stitches strong enough to withhold some coughing? TT with muscle repair + hernia repair

Answers (3)

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