Hernia Surgery: The Best Way to Repair a Hernia?

Hernias are so common that some where around 500,000 surgeries are performed each year in the country to repair them. Hernias happen when the innermost layers of the muscles in the abdomen weaken. This causes the lining of the abdomen to protrude and form a sac. At this point, either abdominal tissue or part of the intestine can push their way into that sac. Hernias usually manifest in the groin area where it is known as an inguinal hernia; as an umbilical hernia in the navel; or at the spot of an incision from surgery.

Almost all hernias are the inguinal type and surgery is the most common way to repair them. This is the best way to prevent complications like having a loop of the intestine become so tightly caught up in the sac that the blood supply is cut off to that section of intestine.

The object of inguinal hernia surgery is to remove the hernia sac. A few stitches may be required to close the opening that has been left near the abdominal cavity. Normally, a patch made of mesh is attached in order to make the wall of the abdomen stronger so that the hernia will not come back. Using the patch makes it about half as likely the hernia will recur than if the open were merely stitched closed.

The surgery can be performed as an open surgery or a laparoscopic surgery. For an inguinal hernia, open surgery requires a large incision at the point where the abdomen meets the thigh. If the surgery is performed laparoscopically, four or five very small incisions are made around the hernia rather than one long incision. A tiny scope with a video camera attached, called a laparoscope, is put into one of these incisions, allowing the surgeon to view the hernia on a video screen. The other incisions are used to insert the tools required to fix the hernia just as is done during an open surgery.

Laparoscopic surgery is a much better options because the recovery time is much shorter and there is less pain after the operation. In fact this type of surgery is done on an outpatient basis, allowing the patient to go home within a few hours.