Hernia Operation: Recovery After Hernia Surgery

Inguinal (groin) Hernia Locations

Certain physical activities can cause the bulge present in a hernia to worsen, such as lifting, coughing, or straining. There can be very serious complications from a hernia if the tissue that is bulging through the abdominal wall gets trapped and the blood supply gets cut off. This will cause that section of the tissue to die, which can then lead to very serious complications. In these situations, the hernia must be repaired surgically. 

Inguinal (groin) hernias are the most common because there is a natural weakness in the groin area which sometimes results in the muscle not completely covering the area. It is also the most common area of hernia because when we stand up, gravity pushes our organs downward, thus causing the weakened walls of the groin area to form a hole and squeeze tissue through. 

Another type of hernia is a ventral hernia, which is found near the midline of the abdomen just above the belly button. These types of hernias are generally painless. [1]

Which type of hernia you have depends on where it is [1]:

• A femoral hernia is a bulge in the upper thigh, just below the groin. This type of hernia is more common in women than men.
• A hiatal hernia occurs in the upper part of the stomach. Part of the upper stomach pushes into the chest cavity in this type of hernia.
• An incisional hernia can occur through a scar if you have had abdominal surgery in the past.
• Umbilical hernia is a bulge around the belly button. It occurs when the muscle around the belly button does not close completely after birth.
• Inguinal hernia is a bulge in the groin. It is more common in men. It may go all the way down into the scrotum.

Surgical Repair of Hernia 

While not all hernias require surgery, hernia repair is a surgical process by definition. Different types of procedures can be carried out to repair certain types of hernias. 

The standard hernia surgery is done under general anesthesia and an incision is made just over the site of the bulging tissue. 

Once the surgeon separates the normal tissue and finds the hole in the abdomen, he or she will push the good and healthy tissue back through the hole, to its proper location, and then close it using either simple sutures or a type of plastic mesh to repair the hole. 

Using sutures alone can sometimes not be as strong as using the mesh material and may cause a second tearing of the tissue when the patient strains or lifts something heavy.  Because hernias often recur, especially in the groin area, surgeons have taken a different approach to repairing the holes by suturing deeper tissue layers which result in the repair being stronger and limits future hernias. 

Most hernia repairs are now done laparoscopically, through small cuts and with the help of a camera, which is less invasive and lessens the patient's recovery time.  

Complications of Hernia Surgery

The biggest risks of hernia surgery are an infection and excessive bleeding (hemhorrage). 

As with any type of surgery, infection is always a concern in patients having a hernia repaired, and patients need to be very aware of the incision site and consult their doctor if they spike a fever or notice abnormal redness around the site. In some patients, excessive bleeding or the lack of the wound clotting is also a risk. 

Patients who are on blood thinners or who are on Aspirin© therapy should inform their doctor of this prior to the surgery. The doctor will likely ask them to refrain from taking the blood thinners and Aspirin© until after the surgery is complete. Continuation of Aspirin is safe and should be preferred in patients with higher cardiovascular risk. [2] Many times, doctors will prescribe antibiotics as a precaution to protect against possible infection.

Recovery Period After Hernia Surgery

Because hernia surgeries are now routinely performed as a laparoscopic procedure, the recovery time is much shorter than it used to be in decades past. Most patients are treated on an outpatient basis. This means that they have the hernia surgery, recover from their anesthesia, and are released from hospital on the same day.

A very large percent of hernia surgery patients return to regular activities within a week of surgery. Compared to when the surgery was performed as an open surgery in which the recovery time was several weeks, laparoscopic procedures to repair hernias are a very routine and easy surgery. 

Patients who had a surgical hernia repair are generally released with a prescription for pain medication and antibiotics. Patients seldom need more than one or two doses of the pain medication and find that they have very few complaints after surgery. The use of laparoscopic surgeries also decreases the risk of infection as the site of incision is less than an inch which is where the scope is inserted into the abdomen. Most incisions don’t require sutures and often patients are sent home with just a small bandage over the insertion site. 

Over the years, technology has advanced radically when it comes to surgical procedures. In the past, a patient might have had to spend several days in the hospital and then several weeks recovering from hernia surgery at home, needing to take time off work and other activities. But today, hernia repair patients are on their feet within a few hours of surgery and often back to their normal routines within days after the surgery. 

Surgery to repair hernias has improved dramatically over the years and has taken what used to be a complicated and possibly dangerous procedure and turned it into an easy fix. Also because the procedure itself has been improved so much over the years, the likelihood of a hernia reoccurring is minimal. In the past patients might have to have a same hernia repaired two or even three times during their life but now surgeons are repairing hernias so well that most patients never have a problem again. 

On a personal note, when my oldest son was ten years old, he developed a hernia in his groin area. After consulting his pediatrician, he was referred to a surgeon who agreed that the hernia needed to be repaired. My son was taken into surgery at eight in the morning, came out of surgery by nine, and we went home before noon. 

He spent two days out of school and then returned to normal activity without any complications. My son is a 28-year-old man now and a professional rock climber. He has never had a single problem since his hernia was repaired and will likely never experience another problem. His profession is very physical and he often strains but the technique his surgeon used has held tight for many years. 

Medicine has come a long way in the past twenty years alone, and even more medical breakthroughs are being made every year.  Repair of a hernia, although still considered major surgery, is quick, nearly painless, and much safer operation than it was just a short twenty years ago. As long as you are informed prior to the surgery and follow your doctor's advice, hernia repair will have a big positive effect on your life without much discomfort.