Symptoms & Treatment of Hernia
Symptoms of hernia could be protruding lumps in the body, with or without pain.
Treatment of hernia has advanced over the years. Hernia repair should usually be done swiftly in order to prevent complications such as organ dysfunction, gangrene or even death.
Most abdominal hernias can be surgically repaired and are not major. Recovery rarely requires long-term changes in lifestyle or long period of recuperation.
Uncomplicated hernias are usually repaired by “reducing” the herniated tissue and then fixing the weakness in the muscle tissue (surgery called herniorrhaphy). Modern surgery could involved insertion of a mesh to strengthen the tissue. Staples may be used to keep the mesh in place and these can be removed from the patient later when the wound has healed. Alternatively, some repairs are performed through laparoscopes.
In laparoscopic surgery, one or more small incisions are made for the camera and instruments to be inserted instead of the surgeon’s bare hands.
Patients can usually return to normal duties or school/work within a week or two, but physical activities may be limited for a longer period of time. Complications are rare, but infections, hernia recurrence etc are possible.
