General Information
The purpose of this page is to cover what you discussed in your consultation in the office. We know we give you a lot of information all at once and we hope the following helps reinforce our discussion and let you feel as best prepared and educated about your surgery as possible. You can also use this page as a resource for your loved ones who may want to understand more about what is planned for your care.
Patients often read about “incarceration” and “strangulation” - terms used to describe hernia contents getting stuck in the hernia and cut off from their blood supply. The first thing to know is that this is not very common when a hernia does not cause symptoms. An emergency happens only 0.2% of the time when someone has a hernia that does not cause a lot of symptoms- there’s a 99.8% chance it won’t happen! If a hernia is symptomatic, the risk is higher. In order to be fully prepared and educated, it is good to know what signs to look out for that this rare circumstance could be happening: If you have a tender lump in the area of the hernia and are not able to push the bulge back in (try lying down and relaxing, then place gentle pressure on the area) and you have symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and/or not passing gas, your bowel could be stuck in the hernia resulting in a blockage and reduced blood supply to this area. You should go to the emergency room in this circumstance. Remember, this is not likely - so much so that we confidently tell many patients it is safe to hold off on surgery for many months to even years if they have a small asymptomatic hernia.
We recommend fixing a hernia when it is increasing in size or when it’s symptomatic. Symptoms can vary - including sharp pain, dull pain, slight pressure or discomfort, and even mental discomfort knowing a hernia is there and bulging is occurring. When patients are told they have a small hernia at a doctor’s appointment without ever really having noticed it themselves and without it ever bothering them, we consider this asymptomatic and oftentimes recommend holding off on surgery until it becomes bothersome. There is a very high chance that it will become symptomatic sometime in the 10 years following identifying that there is a hernia.
Hernia surgery is usually best accomplished with the use of mesh under the abdominal wall- patching the hernia hole with a thin flexible plastic which acts as a scaffold onto which your body builds a scar. This becomes the new strength layer in the area. That said, there are many ways to accomplish hernia repair and the type of surgery recommended to you will depend on several factors in your medical and surgical history. When you underwent a consultation in the office, your physician assistant and/or surgeon considered all of these factors and recommended a certain type of repair. Below we discuss the details of each of these repairs and the recovery you can expect afterwards.
Important information about the cost of hernia surgery:
Boston Hernia is an independent practice owned by its providers. We are separate from the facility, hospital and anesthesia group that may be involved in your care
If you are not using insurance - Complete payment is due two weeks before surgery. Please use this link to pay.
If you are using insurance - we may require a credit card to reserve your surgery appointment.
- Patients using insurance typically owe Boston Hernia $500-$1500 for surgery after insurance pays their part. This is usually due to your deductible.
- We always recommend calling your insurance company to understand what your policy covers and what your deductible may be so that you have a better sense of what you may have to pay for your surgery.
Please click the link below that corresponds with the surgery repair type recommended by your surgeon. If any questions come up while reviewing the information, please call our office at 617-466-3373 to set up a follow up appointment. We want to make sure we adequately answer all of your questions and make you feel as comfortable and confident before proceeding with your surgery.