A hernia is a swelling which develops as a result of weakening or tearing of inner layers of abdominal muscles.
A hernia may cause pain or serious problems requiring urgent surgery for reasons including strangulation or decay (gangrene) of an intestinal section in it.
A hernia doesn't decline over time or disappear by itself. Inguinal hernia, thigh channel hernia and umbilical hernia are the most commonly encountered types of hernia with which the field of General Surgery is concerned.
Symptoms of Hernia
The most common symptoms include:
Inguinal hernia is caused by lifting heavy objects and it develops suddenly. A patient feels a sudden relaxation in his groin, followed by pain. The event takes a short time and the patient notices a bulge in his groin. The bulge is usually soft and swells when coughing and completely disappears on lying down. Such hernias may become very large before showing any symptoms.
The most serious, even lethal risk in the case of hernia is strangulation of the hearnia. Strangulation is cessation of blood circulation in the organs inside the hernia sac due to compression of the hernia sac. First blood flow in the veins slows down, leading to swelling of the part of organ inside the sac, and the pressure on the veins becomes larger and may cause gangrene. A gangrene that may occur in the bowels is followed by perforation and peritonitis. Strangulation shows symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating and constipation. In this case, the only remedy is to remove strangulated part of the intestine and repair the hernia.
Causes
Treatment
Surgery of hernias is performed by two methods. The first one is open surgery or what we can call traditional surgery which is performed by an incision made from outside in the groin region where the hernia is, and the second one is laparoscopic hernia repair.
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