Depending on the type of hernia, if it is small, or if it not causing any problems, then you and your doctor may decide to wait and see what happens. But if the hernia is very large, or if it's trapped and can't be pushed back, and you are in serious pain, you may need emergency surgery.
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.
In general, surgeons recommend having a hernia taken care of in the early stages, before they become cumbersome and medically challenging to treat.
If your hernia becomes painful or gets in the way of your daily living, your doctor may advise surgery. Even if the hernia does not cause pain, surgery can be considered in some cases to prevent future complications.
Based on epidemiological data, approximately 20% of patients with a painless inguinal hernia will live many years prior to worsening symptoms or urgent need for surgery. The reason to fix the hernia is increasing discomfort, pain, or hernia enlargement (surgery will end these symptoms).
When to see a doctor. Seek immediate care if a hernia bulge turns red, purple or dark or if you notice any other signs or symptoms of a strangulated hernia. See your doctor if you have a painful or noticeable bulge in your groin on either side of your pubic bone.
If it is left untreated, a strangulated hernia can lead to life-threatening conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis (severe inflammation of intestine) and sepsis. Since hernias can happen to anyone at any age, knowing warning signs of hernias and being aware of them are essential.
How Long Can You Last? Hernias will not go away on their own. If ignored or left untreated, they will only grow bigger and more painful. It's best to take care of the hernia within the first six hours of recognizing a problem or noticing a lump.
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.
Large hernia defects are defined in the literature as up to 10 cm in size, but Dr. Ross and his colleagues hypothesized that massive hernia needed a more accurate cutoff size.
For a few days after hernia repair surgery, you may suffer mild to severe pain. Most patients feel better within a couple of days of surgery and noticeably improve by seven days. For a few weeks following surgery, you may experience bruising, tugging, or slight twinges in the affected area when moving.
Open hernia repair is a major surgery that's performed with the aid of general anesthesia or local anesthesia and sedation. It's done through one or two standard-sized incisions (three to six inches in length) that allow the surgeon to fully visualize and access the problematic area.
In some cases, if the hernia is small, doesn't grow and doesn't cause any pain or problems, then surgery may not be needed immediately. However, it's important to realize that most of the time, hernias do get larger.
At some point the hernia will become larger and you will experience symptoms of pain, discomfort, a fullness in your groin or stomach, and it will eventually limit your activities. The larger a hernia becomes, the harder it is to repair. The only lasting treatment is surgical repair.
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.
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.
Losing weight can also reduce the size of hernia and thus elevates the abdominal pain. In case of large of hernias, losing weight may not help to improve the severity of the condition. In such cases, surgery is the only option to treat it.
Hernia Surgery Preparation
Preoperative preparation includes blood work, medical evaluation, chest x-ray and an EKG depending on your age and medical condition. After your surgeon reviews with you the potential risks and benefits of the operation, you will need to provide written consent for surgery.
Although it's normal to experience some hernia pain when you exercise, bend over, cough, sneeze, or lift something heavy, if the pain gets worse or you develop a sudden pain, you should contact your doctor immediately for advice.
A hernia can appear suddenly after bending, coughing, laughing, or lifting weights or heavy items, or it can form slowly over weeks or months. Symptoms may improve when you lie down, relieving pressure on the area.
For inguinal, femoral, umbilical, and incisional hernias, symptoms may include: An obvious swelling beneath the skin of the abdomen or the groin. It may be tender, and it may disappear when you lie down. A heavy feeling in the abdomen that sometimes comes with constipation or blood in the stool.
Hernia emergencies
When a section of intestine is strangulated at the site of a hernia, it typically becomes an urgent event quickly. As its blood supply is cut off, symptoms emerge in rapid succession, and tissue can begin to die. Infection can set in, requiring removal of any intestine affected by the event.