Unexpected side effect after a hernia op......upper lip swollen!

[rinol]

DH had a hernia op on Fri and all went well except for an unwanted side effect of his upper lip swollen!....Could it be due to the anaesthesia?It is still swollen 48 hours later!DH says he can feel numbness in his upper lip!Just wanted to know if anyone had experienced this!....and any remedies....Nurse at the hospital said he should wear off!!!.....

It isn't a side effect of anaesthetic drugs that I'm aware of. However it may have been caused by airway management. It should settle down and if it is pressure related, the numbness should ease once the swelling has gone down.

It does sound as if the anaesthetist might have been a bit rough either putting in or pulling out the breathing tube and maybe caught his lip in the process. It could also have been pressing on his lip throughout. Has DH got a sore throat as well? Just having the tube in place can cause an uncomfortable throat but prob more so if it was put in a bit roughly or not very well. DH could try sucking an ice cube and letting it rest on the swollen area a little bit to help reduce it. Other than that I can't really think of much else.

I'd have thought it would start to wear off after a few days but obs if it doesn't, I'd ring the clinic or see the GP. Hope it soon goes off.

Thank you....Seems to be getting a little better.....

That's good to hear rinol. Sometimes during surgery you can come out a bit bashed, battered and sore in places that don't seem to relate to the whereabouts of the op itself. A lot of surgery involves moving things about a bit, pulling tubes around etc and can result in weird bruises. swelling etc.