When an internal organ protrudes through a weak point in your muscle or tissue, it can end up causing a hernia. You may develop different types of hernias, such as femoral hernias, inguinal hernias, hiatal hernias, and umbilical hernias. One must get medical attention for a hernia as soon as he or she experiences its symptoms.

Doctors often recommend hernia surgery to treat the same. Interested to know what hernia surgery is? Continue reading!

The primary treatment for a hernia is surgery, and there are three main types of hernia surgery- laparoscopic repair, open repair and robotic repair. A hernia repair surgery is also known as hernioplasty or herniorrhaphy. To perform this surgery, surgeons will return the displaced tissue back to the body. After that, they will stitch or patch up the weak spot.

A hernia surgery helps in the treatment of a hernia. The need for treatment depends on the severity of one's symptoms and the size of the hernia.

1. Open Hernia Surgery

To perform an open hernia surgery, local anaesthesia is given to the patient in his or her spine or abdomen to numb the area. This is done to help the person sleep, sedate, or combine the two.

After viewing it, the surgeon will make an incision in the groin to repair the hernia. After repairing it, the surgeon will use a piece of mesh or stitches to close the abdominal wall. The mesh is used to strengthen the weak abdominal area where the hernia has occurred.

2. Laparoscopic Hernia Surgery

To perform this surgery, the surgeon will require to make several small cuts in the lower abdomen area. This way, they can insert special tools to view the hernia and repair it. In this method, too, the surgeon will use a piece of mesh to close the incisions and strengthen the abdominal wall.

Benefits of Laparoscopic Surgery

• Instead of one big incision, this surgery will include three tiny scars
• Quick recovery time
• Quick return to work and normal activities
• Less pain after surgery

3. Robotic Surgery

Robotic hernia surgery is a new and modern technique for repairing hernias. In this method, the surgeon sits at a console and handles and operates the surgical instruments from the console. The surgeon will insert a small camera through the incision to visualise the internal structures while operating the hernia. The surgeon will then use a surgical mesh to strengthen the muscle wall.

Benefits of Robotic Hernia Surgery

• Quick procedure
• Less post-operative pain
• Smaller incision(s)
• Long-lasting and reliable results
• Short recovery period

The success rate of hernia surgery in India is high and usually is a successful one. However, one should choose a surgeon who specialises in hernia repairs so that he or she can avoid hernia recurrence and other complications.

Before going for hernia surgery, a patient should take these precautionary steps.

• The night before the surgery, patients should not drink or eat anything after midnight.
• Patients must not apply any perfumes, deodorants, lotions, or nail polish before surgery.
• One should take off his or her jewellery, be it earrings, rings, necklaces or any other kind.
• Before the surgery, one can take a shower or bath.
• Patients should make sure not to shave the surgical site by themselves. The surgeons and doctors’ team will take care of it.
• If one is on any medication, he or she must inform his or her surgeon during the medical assessment.

All types of surgery include some common risk factors like-

• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Infection
• Heart attack, stroke or death
• Allergic reactions to materials used during the surgery, anaesthesia or medications

A few risk factors, however, can develop after hernia surgery, which are-

• The hernia might come back. This tends to happen, especially if you smoke or are an older adult or are overweight. A recurring hernia is more difficult to treat as it is more complex and will require more surgery.
• One can also suffer from chronic pain after the surgery. He or she can experience numbness and pain near the surgical site or wherever the nerves are involved.

If one is undergoing hernia surgery, he or she can expect the following during the surgery.

• Incision: An incision will be performed while the patient undergoes general anaesthesia and requires smaller incisions. This method will also include the use of a special device which is basically a camera at the end of an adjustable tube. This ensures that the surgeon is able to access the area, usually around the navel, via a small incision. This method will require a couple of other small incisions to allow the surgeon to access the area using specialised tools. Moreover, the affected area will also be inflated using carbon dioxide gas to allow easy access to structures and organs.
• Repair: The primary objective of the surgeon is to find the defective abdominal muscle and repair it. If they use surgical mesh, they will place it around the weakened muscles after the internal tissues or organs are repaired. In other cases, the surgeon uses staples or stitches to repair the hernia.
• Stitching/ Suture: After repairing the hernia, the surgeons will carefully close up the incisions using stitches or sutures. During this time, the surgeon’s team will take extra care to prevent all types of infections and clean the area properly. After that, the patient will be taken to a recovery room.

Regarding precautions after hernia surgery, these are the procedures that one will go through.

• Monitoring: After the surgery is completed, usually, the patients are taken to the recovery room. Over here, the patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, urine production, and blood pressure will be carefully monitored.
• Prevention of Blood Clots: Once a patient recovers, the biggest risk that remains is the formation of blood clots. Thus, patients need to walk at least 500 feet per day to prevent blood clots in the legs. Moreover, a small percentage of patients also require blood-thinning medications.
• Discomfort: It is natural for any patient to experience some discomfort after hernia surgery. Generally, over-the-counter medications are able to handle it, but few patients might require a combination of opioid-based and over-the-counter medication.
• Post-operative Restrictions: For the first two weeks, most patients will have a restriction on lifting anything heavier than 15 pounds. Although, patients who have more complications will have more limitations. In general, any patient should be active as much as one’s provider allows.

Moreover, patients should be extra careful after their hernia operations to avoid any kind of side effects. The side effects of hernia surgery can include bowel obstruction, hernia recurrence, infection, pain, and adhesion. Some more complicated events that one might experience after hernia repair with mesh are mesh shrinkage and mesh migration.

The signs and symptoms of hernia can range anywhere from severely painful, painless lump or swollen protrusion of tissue that an individual might be unable to push back into the abdomen. Here are a few signs and symptoms that one might experience if he or she develops a hernia.

• Reducible Hernia
• Nausea
• Fever
• Blood in one’s stool
• Vomiting
• Chills
• Not being able to pass gas or have a bowel movement

Usually, the only way to treat a hernia is surgery. However, doctors might use a few non-surgical approaches like wearing a truss, binder, or corset, which can exert gentle pressure on the affected area or the hernia and keep it in place.

These methods are used as an alternative to surgery only to ease the pain and discomfort of a patient. It can also be used if a patient is awaiting surgery or not physically fit for it. It will provide temporary relief, but the permanent solution to treating hernia is surgery.