Incisional Hernia

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An incisional hernia is a hernia that occurs through a previously made incision in the abdominal wall.

Have I an incisional hernia?
You may see or feel a bulge under the skin at the previous surgery site. It can make pain at the original place or can make back pain as well. The majority of the incisional hernias will get progressively larger and more painful with time. We also observe that bigger incisional hernias affect adversely lung functions.

What should I do?

See a doctor confirm that. The GP will refer you to see a surgeon for hernia surgery.

Should I have radiologic imaging?

Yes, we generally order an abdominal wall CT scan at the most of ventral hernias before surgery. CT scans would help us to make an operative strategy. It would help to define extensiveness of surgery, and also any missed hernia will be seen. We want to see the films ourselves. So, if you have such a CT scan, please bring the CD with you. If you don't have it, we can easily perform it here without any delay.

Incisional hernia repair

Surgery is necessary to treat incisional hernias.  There are several different approaches to incisional hernia repair such as open mesh repairs, keyhole surgery. We mostly prefer both open mesh repairs and keyhole surgery and decide by evaluating several factors including the patient's health status, features of the hernia as well. This is called 'Tailored Hernia Surgery'. These techniques have very successful results if performed by experienced surgeons called Herniologist.

The course

Most incisional hernia patients demand 2 days in bed in the hospital. The patient is discharged on the second day after the operation. The pain is quite low and does not restrict daily life. We use dissolvable stitches for skin incision closure that never need to remove them later. We let our patients go their home the 4th day after surgery.