If you found this blog post, you’re undoubtedly experiencing pain, discomfort, or a lump in your groin or navel. And, you might also be looking for remedies or methods to relieve pain or eliminate hernias altogether. Can a hernia be repaired without surgery? Here’s the answer.
Hernia Diagnosis
First things first, you’ll want to confirm that your pain or protrusion is, in fact, a sign of a hernia. There are other types of lower abdominal pain that can present as hernia symptoms.
Infections, intestinal blockages, growths or tumors, or complications from pregnancy or childbirth could all be culprits and require different care options and treatment. If you’re unsure, schedule a visit for a diagnosis. Almost always, a hernia is diagnosed during a physical exam. The story you tell you provider will help make the diagnosis. Your provider will examine you and feel for a hernia or bulge. Without that bulge, your provider may order a test, if your story is suggestive of a hernia and not an abdominal strain.
Of course, you don’t have to immediately seek out a surgeon or hernia repair specialist, but clinics like ours are more efficient and effective at diagnosing hernias because that’s the core of our business.
Because of our high volume experience, we can make a diagnosis and give a treatment plan in more than 95 percent of our patients without ordering a single x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI.
Types of Abdominal Hernias that Need Repair
You could have an inguinal hernia, which occurs when part of the small intestine or fat pushes through a weakened area of your lower abdominal wall. Hernias, in general, are common, with more than a million hernia repairs being done in the U.S. each year. Of that number, about 800,000 are inguinal hernias, one of the most frequently performed surgeries across the country. Femoral hernias are included here as they are often repaired the same was as inguinal hernias.
If you’re experiencing an issue with your belly button and noticed a bulge or outward bump, you likely have what’s called an umbilical hernia, or a result of weakness in the muscles around your navel. These types of hernias can happen to anyone, but they’re most common during and after pregnancy, and in individuals who are overweight.
Other hernias that require repair include epigastric (above the navel and below the sternum) and ventral hernias, sometimes referred to as incisional hernias because they can form at the healed site of past surgical incisions where the abdominal wall layers are weakened or thin. Hiatal hernias are a type of internal hernia that affects peoples digestion and require specialty care.
Treating a Hernia without Surgery
Can a hernia reverse itself? Hardly ever. We’ve encountered patients who tell us they saw a bulge that disappeared for 20 years before coming to see us.
While most patients that have hernia symptoms choose to have surgery, unexpected life events, fear of surgery, or other reasons could cause a delay in surgical repair. It is often save to use a hernia belt of hernia truss as a way of getting relief before having surgery. A hernia truss, when worn properly, can keep the hernia contents inside the abdomen, minimizing symptoms and long term risk. Some people use a truss for days or weeks before their surgery and some use it for years before seeing a surgeon. We think that anyone that needs to wear a hernia truss, should at least meet with a hernia surgeon to learn what their options are.
Common Hernia Repair
Only surgery can definitively repair a hernia. A lot of people are able to delay surgery for months, even years in some cases. It’s all contextual based on your specific symptoms or pain level. You could repair a hernia that isn’t even presenting symptoms, or you could wait and see if the hernia is currently non-bothersome.
We had a patient come to us for surgical options after his diagnosis. He was preparing to take a sabbatical from work for travel opportunities, suspending his normal medical benefits and insurance. He delayed hernia repair until he resumed full-time work status and health insurance, fully aware of his condition and what to look for in case his prognosis worsened. His case is just one example, and his repair was successful about a year post-diagnosis. This is appropriate with people who have minimal symptoms from their hernia.
In general, there are always risks with avoiding or delaying surgery no matter the type of cause. With hernia repair, the risks of not undergoing surgical care as an adult can be, but are not limited to:
- Hernia growing larger as already weakened muscle walls of the abdomen continue to strain and become weaker as more tissue bulges through.
- It’s rare, but a phenomenon called strangulation can occur – this happens when a loop of the intestine or piece of fatty tissue is trapped inside the hernia, thus cutting off blood supply.
- Worsening pain and interference with everyday activities and quality of life.
- Sometimes people experience changes in bowel or urinary habits as a result of intestine or bladder getting inside their hernia. The longer a patient has symptoms, the more likely these organs are involved, scarred and potentially injured during surgery
- Overall health status may change – as people age, health factors change. Even adding years to your hernia repair places you in a higher age category, and with age, comes additional risks for surgery.
We’ve had several patients who had symptoms from their hernia who waited more than six months to have their surgery. In the operating room, we always find more scar tissue as a result of waiting too long. The surgery takes longer and there is a higher risk of bleeding. We now recommend that anyone who has symptoms from their hernia have surgery within a few months if their schedule allows.
Deciding on Hernia Repair
No one wants surgery. It’s a field and profession based on being reactive vs. proactive in many, many instances. Surgery, including hernia repair, is about restoring the body’s health and function to its normal state. There are plenty of benefits associated with being proactive about your hernia repair, whether inguinal or umbilical. And, there are instances where delaying or putting off your repair makes sense in the short-term, too.
Your best bet is following the guidance of a trusted healthcare professional, someone who specializes in hernia repair surgery, and can walk you through all the possible outcomes and scenarios so you feel comfortable making a decision based on your own health and well-being.
