Indications for Hernia Surgery

Good Indications for Hernia Surgery

Hernias never heal spontaneously and they never simply go away. All hernias should be repaired effectively in order to relief their signs and symptoms and to prevent the possibility of a future surgical emergency. Hernias can become a surgical emergency if the hernia contents become incarcerated or strangulated. The correct diagnosis of the hernia type is critical.

Types of hernia repair procedures

There is no acceptable nonsurgical medical treatment for a hernia. The use of a truss (hernia belt) can help keep the hernia from bulging but eventually will fail. The truss also causes the formation of scar tissue around the hernia making the repair more difficult.

Traditionally almost all inguinal hernias are referred for surgical treatment following diagnosis. Progression of a hernia by time is natural and most surgeons prefer repairing all inguinal hernias as soon as possible. Inguinal hernia is a benign disease and it repair results in only rare and minor complications in elective setting. Nevertheless complications developed after emergency repairs may be more dramatic and frequent, even mortality may be recorded. It is especially so if patient is elder. Therefore a repair in elective setting is recommended generally.

Painless inguinal hernia

Most studies reported that a painless inguinal hernia develop symptoms over time, therefore, surgical repair is recommended for medically fit patients with an asymptomatic hernia.

Therefore most inguinal hernias are still repaired without any observation unless the general condition of the patient is very poor.

There are many types of hernia repair procedures for the various hernia types. These may range from open procedures with mesh, open procedures without mesh, to laparoscopic hernia repair and robotic hernia repair procedures. It is important to recommend the right operation to the right patient. The experienced surgeon with ability to perform a variety of techniques could offer the best approach to that individual patient rather than treating all hernias alike. This approach would lead to long lasting results with fewer complications.