Painful Erection. Skin on the base!

I had a hernia operation about 8 weeks ago, and since the 2nd week i've been having pains in my penis, particularly whilst getting erections. I dont the the medically correct term to describe what is actually hurting, as the doctors keep saying there are no 'tendons, ligaments or cords' in the penis, but for the sake of this topic i'll use the term 'cord'.  Theres two cords on either side of the central vein on the upper side of the penis, that you probably wont realise that they exist untill one starts dramatically hurting and possibly get tighter. I had the operation on my left side, an inguinal hernia if thats the correct spelling/name, and had a mesh put in. Every time I get an erection, the 'cord' on the left side of my vien starts hurting at the base of the penis, and it feels like the cord has somehow got a lot tighter (due to the extension of the penis on the erection obvously). I've traced this cord from an area originating in the head of the penis, through skin on the base