FAQs for HERNIA Part 1 of 2

Some Frequently Asked Questions about Hernia

and answers from The British Hernia Centre

This is a selection of questions we have been asked thousands of times,
Yours are almost certainly here
Take a look ...

If you have not yet seen the main web site,
go through the whole of THIS page now and then take a look at the main pages.
You will have all your answers by the time you have finished!

I'm pregnant.
Should I fix the hernia before the baby is born?

Probably not, but click here for information on
Hernia in Pregnancy

I had my hernia repaired somewhere else. How long before I can do things again?
	Everybody does hernias differently - and with different levels of expertise - and the results are very widely varied. Although our patients are able to do whatever they like as soon as they like, elsewhere it can take weeks or months to get back to normal. We cannot tell you what to expect, only the surgeon who did it can. You must ask him.
I had my hernia repaired somewhere else and I am still having problems, weeks or months later! Why is that?
	See the previous answer. Indeed, see the whole web site as well.
*I have been told that I will be unable to return to normal for several weeks after my operation elsewhere. How do your* patients get back to normal so quickly?**
"QUICKLY" ? We repaired this patient's Hernia on Friday, and he was working out in the gym on Monday! (not always recommended for the rest of us!)	See the previous answer. Indeed, see the whole web site as well.

I do not have a 'bulge' and my doctor does not know if this is a hernia or not.
How can I be sure?

The 'bulge' is a very common symptom of hernia, but
not all hernias have bulges ... and
not all groin pain is hernia.
To find out with more certainty in cases that are difficult to distinguish, you should be seen by a hernia specialist. For more information on confusing cases of groin injury click here for the section on Sport, Groin Pain and Hernia

My Family Doctor says: "If it doesn't hurt you, just leave it alone and see what happens." . *Is this really* good advice?**
		We would not seek to contradict any doctor, but we are increasingly coming to the view that this can be very bad advice. As hernia specialists, we know that hernias ONLY tend to get worse and every day we leave them untreated, we run the risks of complications setting in as well as facing a larger operation eventually. The ONLY advice that should be given once a hernia is diagnosed is to get it repaired as soon as possible. Where, say, only old-fashioned or inferior techniques of hernia repair are available, the advice to avoid surgery because that kind of operation really WOULD pose a serious risk to the patient, might have some unfortunate merit.
	However, if the patient has access to the kind of specialised operation described here, it is very rare that a case exists where the patient should NOT have the hernia repaired as soon as possible. Many of the giant, even inoperable, hernias we see started off being ignored due to such well-meaning advice by their doctor.
		Apart from the risks of strangulation, hernias can just get bigger and bigger, and _BIGGER! This hernia, like all hernias, started off as a small bulge by his navel. It did not hurt him and he decided to accept the common, yet mistaken belief that there was no reason to undergo surgery "yet". Of course, as it became larger, he still chose to put off dealing with it until it reached this stage, which was really not at all sensible. Sadly, we see cases like this all the time. This is pretty graphic evidence why we feel as we say above, that the ONLY advice that should be given once a hernia is diagnosed is to get it repaired as soon as possible. By the way, we have seen hernias get much bigger, even than this one!

Madness! Don't you agree? .

What are the SYMPTOMS of a hernia - Is what I have found a hernia?

Unless you are a doctor, do not try self-diagnosis. The reasons are many, including that there are several possible symptoms, some or none - or any mixture of which you may have and may detect. However, what you have might be something else entirely and by you thinking (perhaps incorrectly) that you can diagnose it as a hernia, you may be putting something else at great risk of going untreated - perhaps with dangerous consequences.

If you have symptoms indicating something is not right, then SEE A DOCTOR who can diagnose it for you properly. No other course is sensible.

I thought that KEYHOLE surgery was the best technique available.
Do you agree?

Keyhole (laparoscopic) surgery represents a great advance in many areas of surgery, such as ovaries, throats, knees, etc.

For hernia, though, we find that results that are as good or better can be achieved without the risks of keyhole surgery. Furthermore, our preferred approach does not need general anaesthesia. Keyhole surgery can only be done with general anaesthesia or spinal injections, which carry additional risks.

We stress that different ideas and beliefs by surgeons are healthy in order to make the changes that lead to advances and improvements. Although there are some eminent proponents of keyhole hernia repair, we do more of these tension-free hernia repairs than any hospital in the entire world, so we could use any technique known to surgical science. Our conclusions are, therefore, based upon very significant experience.

Can a hernia affect erections?

Uncomfortable or painful hernias have been known to cause such problems, because erectile function is very easily interfered with and if one gets any kind of pain with erection, the self-defence mechanism kicks in and prevents the pain by reducing the erection. It can be as simple as that.

This should get back to normal as soon as the underlying cause, namely the hernia, is dealt with. However, if the situation is allowed to continue for a long time, return to normal erectile function might not be quite so simple.

To take your mind off things, you may care to click this button for an idea of what can be achieved...

I am a lady in my eighties.
My doctor tells me I am too old for hernia surgery but my hernia is so large, it makes me look pregnant and am too embarrassed to leave my home!
Can anything be done?

Almost certainly it can! Until now, much about hernia surgery has been quite dangerous in the elderly, or for patients with other complications.

The operations we now do are perfectly suitable for most such patients and you can be rid of the hernia problems very easily.

We see patients much older than you!
Click here for more on who is suited to surgery

l have a HIATUS hernia.
What can I do to relieve the symptoms? Is surgery unavoidable?

There are many ways of dealing with HIATUS hernia, apart from surgery and many types of surgery now available
Click here for more about hiatus hernia

What is a 'SPIGELIAN' Hernia?

All the names of the different hernias really relate only to where they are on the body, a rough guide to which is shown here.

Spigelian hernia is much less common than others, but is - nevertheless - still a hernia in the abdominal wall, slightly to the side of the upper abdomen. It is, like the others, an opening of a 'window' in the wall tissue which needs to be closed by surgery. For all other aspects, what you see on our web site is the same information for all the abdominal wall hernias, including these.

We repair these hernias in almost exactly the same way as we repair the others, with a tension-free reinforcement. The operation is safer, the recovery is much faster and the long-term outcome better.

Once the diagnosis has been confirmed one should have the surgery and, if at all possible, by a hernia specialist who uses this modern technique routinely.

My child has a hernia.
What needs to be done about it and who do I need to see?

Paediatric hernia must never be ignored. Things happen much faster in children and delay in treating a child's hernia that may NEED treatment (not all of them do) could cause harm now and damage the child's development. You must find out.
Click here for information about paediatric hernia

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