If you have been diagnosed with a hernia, or may think you have a hernia, choosing the right treatment can be confusing. Typically an inguinal or umbilical hernia shows up as a bulge in your groin or belly button. This sometime happens all of a sudden, after an injury, like a car accident or with sports. Sometimes the swelling can take a log time to be obvious. In most people, the bulge or bump can sometimes give a feeling of discomfort or pain. Some people describe burning, pulling or even indigestion. Intense pain is always worrisome and requires urgent medical attention.
If you have a hernia, but don’t have any symptoms, click here.
If you have symptoms from you hernia, it’s best to meet with a surgeon to discuss you options. Below I provide you with information about the various methods that are used today around the world. Most mesh repairs have a 95-99%% long term success rate, while primary (non-mesh) repairs have a 90% long term success rate. Specialized hernia clinics will likely have better results, because of the high degree of expertise their surgeons attain through repetition and practice.
I have personally done all of the repairs below and have chosen to do the advanced preperitoneal repair, based on my experience. From the engineering standpoint, this repair relies on the abdominal pressure to hold the patch in place, making it superior to most mesh repairs, other than laparoscopic. Because the open preperitoneal repair can be performed on most patients with local anesthesia and sedation, they experience less short and long term postoperative pain than even laparoscopic patients. In our experience there are so many clear benefits to patients, making laparoscopy obsolete for most patients.
Treatment Options
Advanced preperitoneal repair (also known as Stoppa or Kugel repair)
This is the most advanced inguinal hernia repair available! It combines the benefits of laparoscopic hernia surgery, in terms of mesh placement, with the safety and simplicity of open surgery. This leads to faster hernia recovery than either laparoscopic or traditional inguinal hernia surgery.
I learned this technique after completing more than 400 Laparoscopic inguinal hernia operations. Patients who have the newer, advanced preperitoneal repair have less pain than patients who …more
Traditional Repair
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