When I adopted a pair of twins, one of the first things that struck me was how many doctor's appointments they needed to go to. As we took them to all of their baby well-checks, I realised that these appointments were designed to find and address issues early before they caused other problems. Fortunately, our family paediatrician found a few critical problems that we were able to resolve head-on, and it was immensely helpful. Check out this blog for information about health care, preventative care, and helping your child to enjoy a better life. I know that some of these tips helped me, and I know that they can help you too.
Being diagnosed with a hernia can bring about a mixture of feelings. You may be relieved to know why you have a lump on your abdomen, but you may also be a little unsure of what this means or how the hernia can be treated. The bottom line is that most hernias need to be repaired surgically. Hernia surgery is a well-established set of procedures, and most patients tolerate it well. However, there are a few other things that are good to know about hernias and hernia surgery.
Surgery does not always have to be performed immediately.
In most cases, your doctor will tell you to schedule hernia repair surgery when it is convenient. This could be three months from now or it could be six months from now, depending on your schedule and how easily you can move things around. While you generally do not want to put off hernia surgery for years, a hernia is also not an emergency in most cases. Unless your doctor tells you otherwise, there's no reason to rush into surgery this week or next.
There are some signs that indicate you need treatment sooner.
An exception to the above rule is if your hernia is starting to give you symptoms that suggest it is worsening. If it is ever red, swollen, or painful beyond a mild ache, you need to let your doctor know ASAP. It's relatively rare for these symptoms to occur, but they indicate that the intestine trapped in the hernia is not getting enough blood flow. You'll need surgery to correct this — sooner rather than later.
Mesh is used to reinforce your abdominal wall.
There are different kinds of hernias, but they all are, in some way or another, the result of holes or tears in the abdominal wall. So, the main goal of surgery is to reinforce or rebuild this abdominal wall. This is done with surgical mesh, which is a type of mesh-like material that is biocompatible and is well-tolerated by the body. A patch of mesh will be stitched into the area where you have a hole in your abdomen. Then, the intestines will no longer be able to protrude through that hole.
Now that you know the basics about hernia surgery, you should hopefully feel more comfortable and confident about this upcoming procedure. Rest assured that it is a common procedure, and your doctor should be able to tell you much more if you so desire.
Share4 April 2023
