A groin hernia typically shows up as a lump. This may be tender and affect what you can do. You can usually push the lump back in but it has a habit of popping back out.
Groin hernias usually do not cause a lot of pain. If you have a lot of groin pain, the diagnosis may be inguinal disruption syndrome.
Inguinal disruption syndrome needs to be suspected if there is groin pain, no groin lump and ultrasound scan report of a hernia containing omentum or fat which is irreducible.
Pain from inguinal disruption syndrome is normally not relieved by hernia surgery. Hernia surgery is best avoided in this scenario as it may worsen the pain. In addition, hernia surgery also has complications. Pain from inguinal disruption syndrome often goes away by itself but this can take many years.
Groin hernia surgery is often performed laparoscopically. Sometimes, the traditional open operation may be safer.
Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair takes about 45 minutes, and the patient is discharged home on the same day.
You can usually resume usual activity including lifting as pain allows over a few days.
Mesh is normally used to cover the defect. Sometimes the mesh needs to be secured in place, but other times tissue tension is enough to hold mesh in place while mesh-tissue integration occurs
Complications include:
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bruising around belly button |
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bruising around penis and scrotum |
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haematoma / clot "egg" in the groin |
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hernia recurrence |
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chronic pain |
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acute urinary retention needing catheter |
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injury to bowel, bladder, vessels, testicular structures |
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General Anaesthetic issues |
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General complications eg heart trouble, lung problems, clot in leg |
