Today my dad went in for a routine hernia repair. I didn't realise I had been worrying until after I got the message from my mum to say he was home and well. Being 5000 miles away is hard when you want to be around to help and support.
Hernias come in many shapes and sizes, up to 10% of us will experience one at some point. They occur more commonly in men and are associated with being overweight, heavy lifting, and chronic cough.
A hernia occurs when there is a weakness is the muscular wall of the abdomen which allows the contents (sometimes bowel, often just the fatty tissue that surrounds the bowel) to bulge out under pressure. They can range in severity from a painless small swelling to causing complete obstruction or strangulation of the bowel.
The commonest hernias occur in the groin, with a swelling in the crease between the abdomen and thigh, or swelling into the scrotum.
Other hernias can occur in the upper thigh, in or around the belly button, around the edges of the abdominal muscles and in old surgical scars.
It's worth seeing your GP if you develop any of these to discuss the pros and cons of surgery, and if ever a swelling was to get stuck, become inflamed or you developed abdominal pain, swelling or vomiting with it you should seek emergency advice.
Some hernias have very little risk of becoming stuck or cutting off the blood supply to the bowel and can be left alone if they are not causing symptoms. However some have a higher risk of complications and surgery is recommended.
The surgery can be keyhole or open, and usually involves applying a mesh to the weakened area, reinforcing the abdominal wall.
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