Hernia Affecting the Masses

Hernia is a chronic condition, which is present in millions of unsuspecting people who do not realize it’s presence till the complications set in. 

There are many types of hernia which can occur.  The first being umbilical hernia. This occurs in babies where the gut protrudes through the umbilical foramen, which is still not closed properly in babies the gut comes out in a sac of skin through the umbilicus.

Other types of hernia are the inguinal hernia, femoral hernia, incisional hernia, and hiatal hernia.  Inguinal hernia occurs mainly in males where the gut comes out through the inguinal ring along the spermatic cord and in case of females the gut comes out through the canal of Nuck. In case of the inguinal hernia the contents of the abdomen comes out into the scrotum and in case of females it comes out and forms a bulge outside the canal of Nuck.

Incisional hernia is however a complication of previous abdominal surgery. Here the apposition of the abdominal rectus muscle is not done properly and the gut bulges out through the opening of the muscle and is seen in a sack of skin.

Hernia can be reducible and irreducible.  Reducible hernia is common in case of elderly people where the muscle tone is low and irreducible hernia occurs in comparatively younger persons.  The reducible hernias can be treated conservatively but the irreducible hernias have to be repaired surgically otherwise it may lead to strangulation, which is a very serious condition resulting from loss of blood supply to the contents of the hernia.  There are three types of surgery which is performed on hernia, i.e. herniorrhaphy, herniotomy, and hernioplasty. 

Herniorrhaphy is surgical repair of the orifice through which herniation is taking place, herniotomy is excision of the herniated mass and repair of the aperture to prevent further herniation. Hernioplasty is the repair of hernia and strengthening of the supporting wall with a synthetic mesh so that herniation will not occur again.