If this condition is left untreated longer than 6 hours, incarcerated hernia can cut off blood flow to part of the intestine, resulting in strangulated hernia.
How long can you live with a hernia? The absolute answer is that it is “unpredictable.” Some can live with a hernia for their whole life while others will develop a hernia related emergency within months of the development of their hernia.
Many people are able to delay surgery for months or even years. And some people may never need surgery for a small hernia. If the hernia is small and you don't have any symptoms, or if the symptoms don't bother you much, you and your doctor may simply continue to watch for symptoms to occur.
As hernias get bigger, they become more susceptible to incarceration and strangulation. The latter usually involves blood being stopped from flowing freely to the tissue, which can lead to tissue death and gangrene.
Indeed, many hernias go unnoticed and undiagnosed for years, decades or even the remainder of the patient's life. Asymptomatic hernias, as they are known, do not warrant treatment, in most cases, because we simply do not know they exist, but also because the risk of strangulation is very low.
You can get it surgically repaired, but it becomes an emergency if it becomes what's called an incarcerated hernia. And that's a strangulated hernia. So that's when you get enough of this stuff outside of the abdomen that the blood supply gets cut off to it.
Strangulated hernias, where the tissue stuck in the hernia defect starts to lose blood flow, is an emergency of the highest order. Whether it is intestinal or fat tissue, the contents of the hernia can begin to die within hours of being strangulated.
Many people are able to delay surgery for months or even years. And some people may never need surgery for a small hernia. If the hernia is small and you don't have any symptoms, or if the symptoms don't bother you much, you and your doctor may simply continue to watch for symptoms to occur.
With both surgery types, you may feel pain or soreness for the first 72 hours post-op. You can often manage it with over-the-counter drugs, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen if your hernia was small or in the groin. Most people have less pain after minimally invasive hernia surgery versus open.
Repairing a hernia is major surgery. And like so many other types of surgery, hernia repairs have gotten much better for patients over the years, says Leon Clarke, MD, a general surgeon at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital.
Progression to symptoms in most inguinal hernia patients
More recent studies show that about 80% of patients with inguinal hernia develop enough symptoms over 10 years that they end up needing surgery.
Most inguinal hernias can be pushed back into the belly with gentle massage and pressure. An inguinal hernia will not heal on its own. If you have symptoms, or the hernia is growing, you may need surgery. Some surgeons recommend repair of all groin hernias in women.
This strangulated tissue can release toxins and infection into the bloodstream, which could lead to sepsis or death. Strangulated hernias are medical emergencies.
What else can be mistaken for a hernia? While a hernia is the cause for most people who experience lumps in their abdomen, there are several other possibilities such as a hematoma, lipoma, a gynecological issue in women, or an undescended testicle in newborn boys. In rare cases, a lump may indicate a tumor.
An abdominal wall hernia is generally visible or can be felt by your surgeon. During a physical exam, your doctor will feel your groin area and testicles and ask you to cough. Coughing may make the hernia more prominent.
See a GP if you think you have a hernia. They may refer you to hospital for surgical treatment, if necessary. You should go to your nearest A&E straight away if you have a hernia and you develop any of the following symptoms: sudden, severe pain.
Abdominal wall hernia repairs may require up to a two-day hospital stay due to the internal stitches and healing that is required.
Take good care of yourself in the days/weeks leading up to your surgery. Eat well, stay hydrated, exercise at levels that do not cause excessive pain to the hernia and get plenty of sleep. Remember #1 — try to keep a positive outlook – over 1 million people go through hernia surgery each year in the US.
a bulge that can ache or burn in the area that hurts; if you push on the bulge while laying down, you can usually make it go away. bending over, coughing and lifting cause pain in the area. your abdomen can feel heavy and weak or you can even feel pressure. you might also experience nausea.
A hernia can affect the intestines, which may cause a change in digestion and bowel movements. People may experience constipation or narrow, thin stools. In severe cases, constipation with a hernia may indicate intestinal obstruction.
Most inguinal, femoral and umbilical hernias can be repaired under local or regional anesthesia. Sedation may be administered based on individual preference in consultation with our anesthesiologists. Laparoscopic repair requires a general anesthetic and temporary intubation with a breathing tube.
After any kind of hernia, walking can help keep your muscles strong and help reduce your risk of complications. This is especially true of surgeries on your abdomen. Walking helps your organs return to their proper place.