By Anastasios Xiarchos, MD, PhD, General Surgeon, Director of Surgery Clinic at Peristeri Medical Center
More than 15 million hernia repair surgeries are performed each year worldwide in the Western world. In fact, according to statistics, hernia treatment is the most common surgery in the field of general surgery, with an increasing tendency.
Hernia tends to become even more common in the western and developing world as we have experienced a 4% annual increase in recent years. This is due, inter alia, to the sharp increase in obesity and chronic constipation that are some of the contributing factors to the condition.
The bad news is that over the years hernia, mainly due to obesity, also appears in people under 30 years of age.
The only way to treat hernia is through surgery. The development of surgery, using a mesh, has dramatically reduced the recurrences that were sometimes accompanied by an extremely painful postoperative course.
A real breakthrough has been made in recent years with the application of laparoscopic mesh repair. This is because the recurrence rate is now less than 2% when the surgery is performed by an experienced and qualified surgeon. In fact, in the next few years it is expected to be the basic technical treatment of the condition.
Specifically, laparoscopic hernia repair has clear advantages such as:
- Absence of incisions
- No blood loss
- Painless post-operative course
- Minimal relapse rates
- Immediate return to daily activities
If a hernia is left untreated, it gets worse over time and sometimes gets to the point where urgent surgery is needed.
If one is suspected of having a hernia problem then one should consult a surgeon immediately, as there is no chance of the hernia repairing on its own.
The hernia is caused by a rupture in the abdominal wall and a hole is created through which the outside of the intestine exits.
The patient feels a swelling, something that comes out and swells out, just as the inner tube shows through a slit in the hose. This projection, which can cause a feeling of weight and / or pain, can threaten the patient's health if he / she is constricted. In this case the intestinal perforation is at the gates and the risk of peritonitis is present. That is why the hernia should be operated immediately.
The types of hernia are:
- Inguinal (groin)
- Umbilical
- Femoral
- Abdominal
- Epigastric
- Postoperative
There are various factors and situations, alone or in combination, that favor the formation of the hernia. The most important are:
- The congenital predisposition
- The disorder in the composition - degradation balance of collagen
- Situations that cause increased pressure on the abdomen (obesity, chronic cough, constipation, multiple births, chronic allergic sneezing, heavy manual labor)
- Injuries and / or surgical incisions
