Hernia Surgery » Hernia Repair Without Surgery
How Inguinal Hernias Are Repaired
Hernias do not get better by themselves. On the contrary, left untreated they get worse, so there is not a good idea to live with your hernia. However, the incidence of strangulation of a reducible inguinal hernia is low enough that immediate repair, so just because it's there, is unnecessary. If it is bothering the patient, or if it is non-reducible (incarcerated), then I agree that it should be repaired sooner rather than later. If it's reducible, and not causing the patient any symptoms, then inguinal hernia repair is an entirely elective procedure, as long as the patient is fully informed of the (relatively low) risk of strangulation and what the symptoms of such an event would be.
Unless there are contraindications to having surgery (poor health, heart condition), pretty much every inguinal hernia should be electively repaired. There's no huge rush, but I wouldn't wait many months. Waiting to repair a hernia only allows it to increase in size. Also, the longer the hernia is there, the greater the risks the life threatening complications of bowel incarceration leading to obstruction or necrosis of the bowel wall. These used to be very common complications of inguinal hernias and are pretty uncommon today because nearly all hernias are repaired.
Most inguinal hernia repair these days is done through a groin incision using "tension-free" techniques with prosthetic mesh. Some are done laparoscopically, but, to be honest, my opinion is that there is no significant advantage of laparoscopic repair over standard mesh repairs using groin incisions. They are same-day surgeries. I'm not sure why your original surgeon wanted to use a lower midline incision unless your case is more complicated than I am appreciating. Complication rates from this surgery are low, as are recurrence rates.
Valerian D. is a freelance writer interested in issues such as hernias.
Source: www.a1articles.com