Abdominal wall and Hernia Surgery
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Hernias
A hernia is when an internal part of your body, such as an organ, pushes through a weakness in the muscle or surrounding tissue wall. Usually your muscles are strong and tight enough to keep your intestines and organs in place, but sometimes they aren’t, causing a hernia.
A hernia can occur anywhere in the abdomen region. Patients will normally notice a lump, or discomfort, at the site of the hernia.
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The most common types of hernia are:
• Inguinal hernia – when tissue (usually part of the intestines) pokes through your lower abdomen.
• Femoral hernia – when tissue pokes through into your groin, or the top of your inner thigh.
• Incisional hernia – when tissue pokes through a surgical wound or incision that has not fully healed.
• Umbilical/Paraumbilical hernias – when tissue pokes through the part of the abdomen directlty through or immediately around the navel (belly button)
• Epigastric Hernia- when tissue pokes through into the upper part of the abdomen
• Spigelian hernia -This is a rare type of hernia that appears on the edge of one of the rectus abdominis muscles (these muscles are described as the “six pack” which are readily seen in athletic individuals) 4 or 5 cm below the “belly button”.
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This is made through expert clinical examination but also imaging.
Ultrasound
MRI
Dynamic MRI
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Hernias will not heal spontaneously and tend to gradually enlarge with time. As time progresses and the hernia enlarges, their repair becomes more complex and risk of complications increases. For these reasons, I recommend repair for most hernias as soon as they have been diagnosed.
Traditional methods of hernia repair involve pulling together the muscle and tissue. This creates tension, causing pain and a longer recovery period. Modern repairs use a synthetic mesh to ‘patch’ the hernia, with no tension, giving very low recurrence rates of 1%. Various types of patch or mesh are available, and you’ll be able to discuss this including any anxieties you have over chronic pain.
Chronic pain is when you still experience pain beyond 3 months of the surgery and occurs in 10-15% of cases. It is thought to occur because of scar, nerve stretching or damage and the mesh.
Typically all hernias can be repaired either laparoscopically (keyhole) or by an open technique. Our discussion will enable you to have the technique that is best suited for your hernia. Most hernia surgery can be performed as day case surgery, and under local anaesthetic, depending on your general health. Normally patients are recommended to have an early return to normal activities and a two to four week recovery period, if you perform a non-manual job.