Hernias are not able to repair on their own. Left without treatment they can become more painful and they eventually can become worse. In a reducible inguinal hernia, the possibility of strangulation is low and thefore can allow yo to make plans for surgery without the need of immediate intervention. It’s not a good to live with a hernia so making plans for intervention is the best route. A non-reducible hernia that is causing symptoms should be repaired as soon as possible. If the hernia is reducible, are there are no symptoms, the repair is an elective procedure but the patient should be warned of the strangulation risk and symptoms although the incidents of this are low.
Why hesitate? Get it fixed
Unless there are reasons to prevent having the surgery, such as a heart condition or poor health all inguinal hernias need to be repaired electively. Although there is no need to rush, waiting for many months is not recommended. The longer you wait the higher the possibility of it getting larger. Not only is there risk of enlargement, there is greater risk of incarceration of the bowel that can lead to necrosis of the wall of the bowel or obstruction. Now that these hernias are frequently repaired there have been fewer incidents of these symptoms.
Inguinal Hernia Repair
Tension free techniques are used in repairing an inguinal hernia, an incision is made in the groin and through that, a mesh type material is placed. This surgery can also be done with a laparoscope, but, in my opinion, there is no greater advantage of the laparoscope over mesh repair with an incision in the groin. These are same day procedures. I do not know why your surgeon preferred a low midline incision, perhaps due to a more complicated case that I do not appreciate. Recurrence and complication rates are low with this type of surgery.
Repair of inguinal Hernias
The only cure and treatment for an inguinal Hernia is surgery. There is no other step to a cure that is non-invasive. This is the reason that inguinal hernia repair is at the top of the list of surgical interventions in America. It may not be necessary to perform surgery if the hernia causes no discomfort or pain. This should only be decided after speaking to your physician. There is no reason to rush into a decision if the hernia is asymptomatic and causing no discomfort.
If your hernia is easily pushed back into position, you may choose to wait for the surgery until the time is convenient for you. If the patient is a child then surgery should not wait, this is because of the possibilities of strangulation or incarceration of the hernia. Consult your physician immediately if you feel your child may be suffering from a hernia.
Wearing a truss or corset can cause further problems and complications, and remember there is no medicine that will cure a hernia, so it is best to consult your physician to learn your options.
Inguinal Hernia Surgery
There are a couple choices if you need surgery on your hernia. Open repair surgery of the hernia has been in practice for decades. There is an incision made in the groin and the hernia is repaired through it. If it is a bulging hernia, it is pushed into place, if it is in the inguinal canal (indirect) it is either tied off then removed or pushed back.
The weakness in the muscular wall, where the bulge is present is repaired by sewing the two edges of healthy tissue together this is known as heriniorrhapy. This procedure is used on hernias that are smaller in size and are present at birth (indirect) and for healthier tissue where the stitches will not add stress to the tissue. The approach depends on the surgeons preference and the area of the wall that needs to be repaired.
Synthetic mesh patches such as Teflon, Marlex, Gore-Tex, Prolene or Dacron are widely used and the procedure is called a hernioplasty. This method is for use mainly in larger hernias. After the hernia is pushed into place the patch is then sewed over the area of weakness. The tension on the abdominal wall is lessened with use of the patch and reduces the risk of recurrence.
