Many people, no matter what age or sex, suffer from one type or another of hernia. Hernia occurs when because of a muscle failure or weakness the tissue underneath the muscles protrudes through a hole that it makes, creating a bulge. The cause of hernia is generally the fact that in time muscular tissue is getting tired and worn, so they lose resistance and tear. If somebody suffering from hernia ignores it, and many do so because in the beginning the pain in the area where the bulge appears is not disturbing, the disease will grow and will start to be a real problem. The bulge created by the hernia may not hurt first but it does cause quite some pain after some time, especially if the person that has it coughs, bends, or lifts something heavy.
So in most hernia cases a simple surgery is needed and it will fix everything. If the doctor recommended you hernia surgery then it would not be wise to delay it because complications are likely to appear. The lump can fill with fat and trap the intestine inside it, causing severe digestive problems. (when hernia blocks or traps another organ it’s called strangulated hernia). If this happens surgery must be done immediately because severe hernia complications are life-threatening.
Fortunately, because millions need hernia surgery each year, the surgical tehniquies have greatly improved in the last few years, and new tehniquies are researched continuously. Before, the surgery was a more complicated process that caused pain sometimes and that required a lot of time dedicated to the recovery, but now hernia surgery does not hurt at all and the recovery time is much shorter.
Hernia surgery depends on the type of hernia that the patients have, methods slightly differ from situation to situation, but there are two major tehniques designed to remove hernia:
-laparoscopic herniorrhaphy – the doctor makes two very small incisions through which he inserts special surgical devices that he controls through a remote-control and that fix the problem. This method leaves almost no scars after everything heals
-open herniorrhaphy – the doctor makes one big incision, fixes the hernia with surgical instruments controlled by his hands not by a remote control and then sews the hole in the muscles through which the bulge came out. This method may leave some scars after the wound heals.
After the surgery a small recovery period follows, and patients are prescribed some medication and a special diet that they must hold on to for a few days until digestion starts to work as it normally should. After a few days patients can start walking, but running, exercising, or other sporting activities are forbidden for about five weeks.
Hernia surgery is an easy surgery that millions go through and that does not present any complications in 99% of the cases, so there’s nothing to worry about if you need to be operated for hernia, but you have a lot to worry about if you keep delaying the surgery until complications show up.