Hernia And It's Repair

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Friday, September 17, 2010, 16:11

Hernia is a weakness or an opening in the muscular walls. This generally leads to the bulging of the tissues. Hernia's are generally found in the groin, firstly because of the natural anatomic weakness of the area. Secondly, in a human body, the abdomen is always under pressure and the constant pressure often results to weakening of the tissues. The two reasons together often lead to the break down of the support tissues, tearing the pre-existing hole and resulting in a new hole.

A hernia patient should always avoid putting extra pressure on his abdomen. An extra pressure can lead to a dangerous effect on the abdominal bulge. Serious complication can be the trapping of the tissues, called incarceration. This leads to blood supply cut and thus death of the tissues. This problem can be solved only with a surgery.

Other type of Hernia's are, Femoral, Umbilical, Incisional,Spigelian, Obturator and Epigastric.

Causes Of Hernia

1.Ageing of tissues like menopause
2.Heavy weight lifting
3.Constipation
4.Obesity
5.Injury
6.Whooping Cough
7.Pregnancy

Symptoms

1.A tight, stretched lump
2.The lump may be painful.
3.Nausea and Vomiting
4.Fever

Hernia Repair

They are of two types -

Open Hernia Repair – The anesthesia used during Open Repair operation depends on the state and stage of hernia. A lot also depends on the health of the patient. Local anesthesia is done to a large area of the patients body, which numbs the whole area. A incision is then made near the location.

The hernia is carefully opened and the intestines or other tissues are carefully placed back. The weaken area is repaired and reinforced with a synthetic mesh or a suture that pulls the abdominal muscle tissue back together.

Laparoscopic Hernia Repair Surgery – Laparoscopic repair is a very recent trend. In this operation, instead of one, four or five tiny incisions are made. A miniature scope attached with a camera is inserted through the holes. The surgeon is then able to see the it and the rest of the procedure is similar as Open Repair.
The benefit of Laparoscopic, is that it takes less recovery time and less post-operative pain.
Hernia Repair however, does not promise permanent recovery.