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A hernia happens when tissue pushes through a weak spot in your muscle wall. The most common type is an inguinal hernia, which occurs when tissue in your abdomen bulges into your groin area through a weak spot in your lower abdominal wall. Inguinal hernias, also known as groin hernias, occur in the passageway from the pelvis to the sex organs. They’re the most common type of hernia in this section.
Types of Inguinal Hernia
We generalized inguinal hernia in to two types. Those two types are:
- Direct Inguinal Hernia: Direct inguinal hernia generally occurs in adults. It happens when abdominal muscles weaken and allow the tissue to bulge through the inguinal wall.
- Indirect Inguinal Hernia: Indirect Inguinal usually occurs due to a birth defect, entering the canal through the top. This often results from an opening in the inguinal canal that didn’t close properly during fetal development.
Symptoms of Inguinal Hernia
Not all inguinal hernias exhibit symptoms, they may come and go. Symptoms may appear during some specific activities. For children, you may notice a lump in the groin area that enlarges when they cry and it may disappear when they sleep. In the case of indirect inguinal hernia, you may not feel them by touching it, as they hide behind muscle fibers. Some common symptoms of inguinal hernia include:
- Groin pressure or heaviness
- Groin pain during straining, coughing lifting
- A sharp sensation that radiates through the pelvis or leg
Causes of Inguinal Hernia
This deases occurs when there’s a weakness or opening in the lower abdomen wall, allowing tissue to push through. The causes of inguinal hernia are:
1. Birth defect: An opening or weak spot present at birth.
2. Genetic problem: Congenital differences in connective tissue strength can be a cause.
3. Previous abdominal surgery: An opening or weak spot from your previous abdominal surgery can be a cause.
4. Chronic coughing or sneezing: If you have chronic coughing or sneezing problems you may face it.
5. Chronic straining: Prolonged pressure on the abdominal wall is risky.
6. Heavy lifting: Frequent heavy lifting or excessive physical activity can also be a cause.
7. Prolonged sitting: Jobs requiring long hours of standing can lead this.
8. Chronic obesity: Obesity creates pressure on the abdominal wall.
9. Pregnancy: Pregnancy duration and lifting to your kids can be responsible.
10. Aging: With age, the tissues start weakening.
Prevention of Inguinal Hernia
You can’t prevent your congenital defect that relates to inguinal hernia but you can reduce strain on your abdominal muscles and tissues.
- Maintain a healthy weight and take a proper diet plan.
- Be careful while lifting heavy things. Always bend down from the knees, avoid bending from the waist.
- To prevent constipation and straining, take high-fiber foods.
- Smoking can lead to chronic coughing, so avoid this.
Diagnosis of Inguinal Hernia
A physical examination is enough to diagnose an inguinal hernia. Your doctor will do:
- Physical Examination
Your provider will look for a visible bulge or lump. They will feel the area to detect any bulge or lump. You may be asked to cough or bear down to see if the hernia poke out.
- Imaging tests
If the hernia is not visible or your doctor can’t feel it through touching it, then they may ask for imaging tests to identify the inguinal hernia. Those tests are ultrasound and CT scan. Ultrasound is the first choice for imaging and in rare cases, they ask for a CT scan to get specific details.
Treatment of Inguinal Hernia
Doctors usually recommend surgery for this deases. Surgery is often advised because most inguinal hernias will eventually cause symptoms. For people with small or asymptomatic hernias, watchful waiting can be recommended.
In some cases, your doctor may massage the hernia back. For this, it’s recommended to wear a belt or truss to keep the hernia in place during certain activities. This may help prevent the hernia from growing.
- Surgical procedure
Hernia repair surgery is the most common surgery to cure it. It is performed under general, regional and local anesthesia. The goal of hernia repair surgery is to return the hernia contents to the abdominal cavity and closing the gap. We also called it as Herniorrhaphy. To add extra support, your surgeon may use tissue from another part of the body with a thin synthetic mesh. We call it as Herninoplastry.
Most hernia repairs can be done using minimally invasive surgery, but complicated cases may require open surgery. The type of surgery depends on your condition, previous surgeries and your surgeon’s recommendation.
- Laparoscopic Surgery: Several small incisions in the abdomen will be done. Then a Laparoscope, which is a thin tube with a video camera, will be inserted through an hole. Here long and thin instruments are used for repair. It provides the fast healing.
- Robotic Hernia Repair: It is similar to laparoscopic surgery. Here the surgeon operates this procedure from sitting at a console and surgical instruments are controlled from there.
- Open Surgery: Open surgery is needed for severe cases. It’s a traditional method. Your surgeon makes a long incision across the pelvis. They pushes back the hernia into abdomen.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
- What is an inguinal hernia?
Answer: Inguinal hernias, also known as groin hernias, occur in the passageway from the pelvis to the sex organs. It occurs when tissue in your abdomen bulges into your groin area through a weak spot in your lower abdominal wall. They’re the most common type of hernia.
- What are the symptoms of inguinal hernia?
Answer: A bulge or lump in the groin, discomfort or pain, heaviness on groin, especially when coughing, lifting, straining are the symptoms of inguinal hernia.
- What causes inguinal hernia?
Answer: Causes of inguinal hernia include – birth defects, genetic problem, previous abdominal surgery, chronic coughing or sneezing, chronic straining, heavy lifting, prolonged sitting, chronic obesity and aging.
- How an inguinal hernia diagnosed?
Answer: Physical examination and imagining tests like ultrasound or CT scan are recommended to diagnosed inguinal hernia.
- How to prevent inguinal hernia?
Answer: Maintain a healthy weight, taking proper diet food, bend down from knees while heavy lifting, fiber food intake, quitting smoking can help you to prevent inguinal hernia.
