Hernia: Symptoms, Causes, Treatments and Prevention

The word “HERNIA” itself means a protrusion. Hernia is defined as a protrusion caused by formation of a hernial sac and accumulation of abdominal contents into the hernial sac. It often presents as a painless lump in the groin area though on prolonged physical activity like standing,walking,sneezing,coughing etc may cause a bit of discomfort.

Types of Hernia

They are various types of hernias depending on their location and condition of the hernial contents. The most common type is discussed hereunder.

Inguinal hernia : In this type of hernia a loop of large bowel (large intestine) pushes through the weak abdominal wall and protrudes through the abdominal wall using the path of the inguinal canal.

The inguinal canal is the canal situated In the groin area through which the testicles descend into the scrotum before delivery.

The inguinal hernia usually occurs as a painless swelling in the groin area and or in the scrotum. Hernias should not be confused with hydroceles which is a condition in which the serous fluid accumulates into the layers surrounding the testes.

Tips to Prevent Hernia

1) Heavy objects should not be lifted abruptly and suddenly instead help should be taken to reduce the weight being lifted and spread the load so that stress is divided and hence the pressure on the abdominal wall is reduced

2) While at the gym one should be cautious while lifting heavy weights. Instead a support belt should be fastened around the abdomen to provide support to the peritoneal wall and hence prevent hernias.

3) Any lump or swelling even if painless should not be ignored and should be checked by a doctor or a physician

4) Once detected for a hernia one should be very careful about lifting heavy objects and a doctor should be consulted to check the whereabouts of the herniated loop of the intestine.

5) Usually surgery is the only procedure available to correct a hernia which is done on an out patient basis using the general anesthesia in case of inguinal hernias.

Incase of strangulated hernias an emergency operation is needed to save the strangulated loop of hernia from death of tissue due to lack of oxygen supply to that part of the loop. In such a case the patient may be asked to stay for about 3 to 5 days at the hospital.

One should be very careful and vigilant about oneself and any swelling in the groin or scrotum should not be ignored because hernia can be life threatening if the herniated loop of the intestine gets strangulated within the abdominal wall. This compromises the blood supply to the herniated loop and causes immense pain and redness of the groin. In such a case emergency surgery is the only option before its too late and the herniated tissue dies due to lack of oxygen supply.

SURGERY

The best type of surgery for hernias is the “keyhole surgery” or the non-invasive surgery which is the Laparoscopic surgery where in a small incisions are made into the abdominal wall usually in a triangular shape. Through one of the incisions a proline mesh is inserted in folded condition and spread over the abdominal wall once inserted through the incision. The other two incisions provide the passage for the probes which provide required luminescence and camera to help perform the operation.

The other method but the uncommon one nowadays is the open surgery wherein a large incision about 7 -12cms is made in the groin and then the procedure is carried out as in the key-hole surgery.

Recovery period for patients who’ve undergone laparoscopic surgery is drastically reduced when compared to patients who’ve undergone the open surgery. Also the risk of infection is higher in open surgery patients when compared to the ones who had the hernia repair by key-hole surgery.