Inguinal hernias can appear on one or both sides of your groin (upper inner thigh). They can look like a swelling in your groin or cause an enlarged scrotum (a pouch that sits behind the penis in men). This swelling might be painful and could lead to other complications.
Hernias can cause a number of issues. For example, if a part of your bowel becomes stuck within your hernia, it can obstruct food from passing through your bowel. This is known as
obstruction and can cause abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
If the blood supply to the tissue within your inguinal hernia or a part of your bowel becomes cut off (strangulation), it can trigger severe pain in your abdomen and hernia. The skin over your hernia could become red and your bowels might stop functioning.
Inguinal hernia repair surgery is an effective treatment for these issues, and one that we perform routinely and successfully at The Alexandra Hospital. We see patients from Manchester, Stockport, Cheshire and further afield.
What happens during inguinal hernia repair surgery at The Alexandra Hospital?
A Consultant General Surgeon at The Alexandra Hospital will perform your inguinal hernia repair surgery. This will either be performed through keyhole surgery (where small incisions and specialist instruments are used to repair your hernia) or open surgery, which uses a single incision to treat your hernia. At your consultation at The Alexandra Hospital, your Consultant will provide further information about the type of surgery that best suits your needs.
Open surgery for inguinal hernias
If your Consultant recommends open inguinal hernia repair surgery, you could be administered either a local anaesthetic or a spinal anaesthetic (an anaesthetic injection into your spine) before your procedure. This will prevent you from experiencing any pain during your surgery.
After you have been administered anaesthetic, your Consultant will begin your open inguinal hernia repair surgery by making a small incision over your hernia.
Your hernia, whether this is a lump of fatty tissue or loop of bowel, is placed back into your abdomen and a mesh is placed over the weakened part of your abdominal wall. As you recover from your surgery, your own tissue will grow through the mesh and strengthen your abdominal wall.
Laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernias
But if you are advised to have laparoscopic (keyhole) inguinal hernia repair surgery, this is typically performed under general anaesthetic, which means you will be asleep during the procedure.
If you are advised to have keyhole surgery, an incision will be made near your belly button and two small further incisions will be created on your lower abdomen (tummy).
Your Consultant will use carbon dioxide gas to inflate your abdomen and a small telescope will be placed through one of these incisions to examine your hernia.
There are two methods that are used to repair your inguinal hernia. In TAPP (transabdominal preperitoneal) laparoscopic surgery, specialised instruments are passed through the other two incisions and into the muscle wall of your abdomen and peritoneum (the lining that covers your abdominal organs). A section of your peritoneum is then placed over your hernia and a piece of mesh is attached to the weakened part of your abdominal wall.
During TEP (totally extraperitoneal) laparoscopic surgery, your abdominal cavity (the space around the organs in your tummy) is not entered. Instead, surgery is performed in the space between your abdominal muscles and the lining of your abdomen.
It can take between 30 to 60 minutes to perform open or laparoscopic surgery for inguinal hernias.