Inguinal, Umbilical, Incisional, Femoral

Open Surgery for Hernia

Both men and women are susceptible to this condition, some may have it from birth and some may develop it over a period of time.

The different types of hernia are as follows:

• Inguinal
• Umbilical
• Incisional
• Femoral

There are various avenues of treatment available and depending on the medical history of the patient the surgeon may recommend what’s needed. If surgery is not suitable for the patient the doctor may recommend a ‘Truss’; a ‘truss’ is a belt that holds the hernia allowing the patient to continue with his daily chores. In other cases the doctor might recommend either open or minimally invasive approaches.

Open Surgery for Hernia is one of the open surgical approaches that is employed to remove the hernia.

The surgery is carried out under the influence of local or general anesthesia and incisions of 6 to 8cms are made in the groin region. Through the incisions that are made the hernia is removed with the help of surgical equipment; to strengthen the abdominal walls the surgeon might place a synthetic mesh and sew the region. After this the incisions are sealed using surgical glue or staples.

The open surgery for removing different types of hernias is as follows:

• Inguinal: In the case of an inguinal hernia the surgery is carried out by making incisions in the abdomen region and after the hernia is removed. An inguinal Hernia is caused when the inner layers of abdominal wall have weakened which results in a bulge or a tear. As a fall out of this inner tube pushes through the damaged tire and the inner lining of the abdomen pushes the weakened area of the abdominal wall to form a balloon like sac.
• Umbilical hernia: Umbilical hernia is a condition where a bulge occurs when a part of the tissues in the intestine or abdominal cavity start pushing through a soft/weak part in the abdominal wall near the belly button. This makes the intestine to loop or result in a tear of abdominal tissue. The weakening of the tissue may occur due to natural weakness, heavy lifting, persistent coughing, straining with bowel movements or urination. This condition can occur both in children and adults. During open umbilical hernia surgery the incisions are made near the belly button and the hernia is removed.
• Incisional hernia: An incisional hernia occurs due to weakening of abdominal walls due to surgical incisions. Lack of post-operative care, heavy lifting activity, stress on the abdomen, rapid weight gain are the reasons for the occurrence of incisional hernia. Open surgery for incisional hernia is similar to regular open hernia procedures.
• Femoral Hernia: A Femoral hernia is caused when a muscle tissue pushes through a weak spot in the muscle wall of the groin region or in the inner thigh region. The surgery for femoral hernia is carried out by making incisions of 4cm to 8cm in the abdomen region (lower tummy to be specific) or over the hernia. The femoral canal is then opened and the doctor places the fatty tissue or the loop of bowel back into the stomach. The canal is then closed and before closing the region is reinforced with a mesh.

The recovery time in an open procedure is longer than a laparoscopic procedure and it takes around 3 to 4 weeks to recover from an open surgery.

The wounds are deeper and hence require proper post-surgery care. The patient is advised to take good care about the dressing for the wounds because an infection might result in complications.

The doctor also monitors the patient’s progress regularly and the patient is advised to take complete bed rest for 15 days post-surgery.

Lifting anything heavy, jarring movements, driving and strenuous physical activity should be strictly avoided for 6 weeks.