Undergoing hernia surgery should be safe and painless, though you should avoid activities which increase pressure in the groin or belly area until healing has taken place.
Your surgeon can discuss which option would be most suitable to you based on factors like size and type of hernia as well as personal health considerations and preference.
Open surgery
Hernias occur when fatty tissue or loops of bowel become trapped in weak areas in your abdominal wall and become herniated, causing discomfort when coughing, standing, or lifting heavy items. They can become trapped and cut off from blood supply (referred to as “incarceration”) which requires prompt medical attention as this could lead to serious complications including an increased risk for cancerous growths.
Your surgeon can repair your hernia through either open surgery or laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery; they will recommend which will best address it for your situation.
Laparoscopic hernia repair involves making three small cuts: one near your belly button and two in your lower abdomen. Your surgeon then inserts a medical device with a telescopic camera and surgical tools into these cuts; they use this camera to view your hernia before using a mesh covering over its hole to strengthen your abdominal wall.
Laparoscopic surgery
When your hernia is small and does not cause discomfort or expand over time, surgery may not be necessary. However, hernias may worsen over time and become inflamed, infected or trapped (which can cut off blood supply to vital organs and be life-threatening).
At laparoscopic hernia repair, a surgeon makes several small incisions through the abdomen and places a camera inside to observe where a hernia exists. She then repairs it while viewing images on a video screen.
Surgeons may use flexible mesh to reinforce weak areas of muscle during some hernia repairs, which helps lower the risk of reinjury and can also be utilized when an open hernia repair isn’t feasible. Once surgery has taken place, patients usually can resume regular activities shortly thereafter; just follow your physician’s instructions regarding what you can lift and when switching positions between lying down and sitting up quickly.
Tension repair
Tension repair is an ingenious hernia surgery technique that combines several traditional approaches in order to decrease the chances of hernia recurrence. It involves pushing back into place the hernia bulge while strengthening abdominal wall weakness, then closing any opening in tissue with dissolving sutures or adhesive (such as abdominal adhesive) so as to prevent future hernias from recurring. This procedure was pioneered at British Hernia Centre over many years of study.
Under general anesthesia, surgery will be carried out under local anesthesia. Your surgeon will make three to five small cuts in your lower belly before inserting a laparoscope with camera capabilities and lighted tools on its end – used to view any hernias present within.
Surgeons will then sew together healthy muscle or place mesh to reinforce the abdominal wall and prevent future hernias. When choosing an approach to treating a hernia, it is essential that both its type and size be taken into consideration to find the most appropriate surgical technique.
Mesh repair
Hernias occur when a mass of fat or part of your bowel passes through an opening in your muscle or abdominal wall and squeezes through. A hernia can be fixed surgically by pushing back through and inserting something to strengthen muscles or tissues where the hernia came through.
Meshes are flat “screens” used as extra protection to stop hernias reoccurring, using plastic or biological mesh (from patients’ own skin or animal intestines) as extra barriers. There’s an entire industry dedicated to hernia mesh which comes in various forms like woven and non-woven sheets or shapes.
Some hernia mesh is absorbable and degrades in the body over time; others remain permanently. Some manufacturers claim their hernia mesh coated with cellulose or fatty acids prevent adhesions while polypropylene hernia mesh may come equipped with nitrile rubber coating to prevent allergic reactions.
