Hernia is a debilitating condition in which your internal organs can spill out of their ideal place, causing painful protrusions. One such type of hernia is inguinal hernia which mostly affects men.
According to an overview by researchers from Beaumont Farmington Hills, ‘inguinal hernia will affect nearly 25% of men and less than 2% of women over their lifetime.’ To know more about this condition, the team of OnlyMyHealth spoke to Dr M Manisegaran, Consultant Surgical Gastroenterologist-Minimal Access Surgery, Bariatric, Metabolic & Robotic Surgery, Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad.
What Is Inguinal Hernia?
“Inguinal hernia is a protrusion of intra-abdominal organs outside through the inguinal canal. Common organs that protrude here are segments of the small bowel, large bowel and fatty leaf attached to the large bowel called omentum. Rarely the appendix, ovaries and meckels diverticulum (a part of the small intestine) can also herniate into this canal. Sometimes, the urinary bladder and parts of the large bowel can form the posterior wall called Sliding inguinal hernias,” said Dr Manisegaran.
Explaining what the inguinal canal is, he informed that it is a passage in the lower abdomen, which is a potentially weak area formed due to the descent of the intraabdominal organ testis to the scrotum during embryogenesis and birth.
“These hernias can present on right, left or both sides of the abdomen, and can be either indirect, direct or both depending on their route through the canal, posterior weak wall or both respectively,” he shared.
Listing the causes of this condition, he said:
- The leaf of the peritoneum accompanying the canal doesn’t obliterate along with increased intraabdominal pressure due to chronic cough, constipation and difficulty in passing urine
- History of open appendectomy that has caused nerve injury to the inguinal muscles.
Inguinal Hernia Symptoms And Treatment
Sharing some of the symptoms of Inguinal hernia, Dr Manisegaran listed:
- Subtle swelling that appears during standing, workouts, and weight lifting exertions and disappears on lying down.
- Pain or discomfort with a dragging sensation associated with nausea and vomiting where the bulge doesn’t go inside even after lying down or with pressure.
- Failure to pass flatus or stools.
- When the obstruction progresses with severe constriction at the neck of the hernial sac the blood supply to the contents is jeopardised, leading to ischemia and gangrene.
- Absent cough impulse with low blood pressure.
- Abdomen distension and altered sensorium.
Dr Manisegaran warned, “Inguinal hernia can be a seriously life-threatening emergency that can lead to resection of the bowel, omentum-associated complications, and death.”
Sharing ways to treat this complex condition, he said, “All hernias need surgery. The standard for surgery is to augment the defect with a mesh, or hernioplasty. These procedures are best done with minimal access laparoscopy, robotic surgeries, and open surgery, and are mostly confined to emergency procedures.”
Explaining why these hernias are more common in men, Dr Manisegaran said, “Inguinal hernias occur in 2% of all children and can occur on either side but are more common on the right side. The reason why they are common in males is that the testicles develop in the back of the abdomen, below the kidneys in the foetus, and they descend to the scrotum pulling on a sac-like extension of the lining of the abdomen.”
Also Read: Dealing With Hernia? Expert Lists 6 Tips To Manage It
DR Manisegaran concluded, that all inguinal hernias need surgery and should never be ignored. Delaying timely screening in case of groin swelling can lead to dangerous consequences. Size doesn’t matter in hernia but its contents can be compromised if there is a delay in seeking surgical consultation.