Hernia & It's Symptoms | Dr. G. Parthasarathy | KIMS Hospitals

#hernia #surgicalgastroenterologist #kimshospitals​
This talk is to create some awareness about a very common problem, that people encounter, which comes under the purview of gastroenterology , called hernia. So, lets discuss about various aspects of this problem:
what is a hernia?
what are the symptoms of hernia
How to diagnose a hernia
what are the complications which can happen if one does not treat a hernia
How is hernia treated, what are the latest advancements in the treatment of hernia
what is a hernia?
Hernia is one of the most common problems which presents to the surgical gastroenterologist.
A hernia is basically a protrusion of any of the inside organs. In the abdomen we have several organs like the small intestines, large intestines, stomach, liver, these are very safely packed inside the abdomen, by a cylinder of muscle. Due to various reasons one part of the cylinder, protective coverage can get weak, that happens whenever the patient coughs or strains, because of this weakness, the organs that were supposed to be safely packed inside, can bulge out through that, in simple terms you can compare the cylinder cover to a cycle tire, and all the vital organs are like the tube. The tube is very delicate, the tire is the outer covering which protects the tube. When the tire becomes old one part of the tire becomes very weak, then you will find the tube is bulging out of the tire. That is exactly how a hernia also happens, when the tube bulges out it can hit a stone and the tube can puncture, that is the same problem one can face with hernia also.
what are the symptoms of hernia?
The first symptom that any patient notices when he/she has a hernia is there is a abnormal bulge. A bulge can happen more commonly in the belly button area, when we call it an umbilical hernia. It can happen in the groin region, the place where the abdomen and thighs meet, in that region there can be a bulge which appears when they cough or strain, and it can disappear when the patient lies down. The groin region hernia is called an inguinal hernia. The same bulge can also happen in areas where a previous surgery has been done, like a lady who has undergone a c-section , a person who has undergone an appendix operation, over the scar, they may notice a bulge appears everytime they cough or strain, this type of hernia is called an incisional hernia.
How is hernia treated, what are the latest advancements in the treatment of hernia?
People with hernia have to understand that hernia is a problem which occurs because there is a hole in the abdominal wall,so there is a defect, it is very similar to seam of your shirt or pant getting broken and the stitch opens up, medicines cannot get this stitch closed again, so hernia is a surgical problem and the treatment of hernia is done through surgery, the abnormal gap is again stitched back, and another mesh is placed over the stitch, to strengthen the stitch line and to prevent the hernia from happening again.
How do you prevent hernia?
1) Avoid prolonged straining, be it a straining continuously at motions, if you have constipation it is better to get it treated so that the motion is soft, by including a good amount of fibre in the diet, taking adequate fluids and if it doesn’t respond to this, take a certain medications as suggested by your doctor.
2) Avoid smoking, since smokers generally develop a chronic cough, if they keep coughing constantly the constant pressure on the abdomen will weaken the abdominal wall and lead to hernia formation. The tissue of a smoker is of much poorer quality than the tissue of a non smoking individual, so when a smoker develops a hernia and undergoes a operation for the hernia, the chance of it healing completely is much lesser than a non smoker, that is the reason when we want to do a surgery for a smoker we make it a point that he/she stops smoking before the operation, and continues to quit smoking after that, because only then the healing power is better and the type of collagen that s formed is of good quality and the hernia doesn’t recur.
3) If there is a problem with straining during urination , the prostrate becomes enlarged and this causes hernia to develop over a period of time.
4) Excessive weight training without the guidance is harmful
5) Good nutrition with adequate protein intake is very important for building the muscle strength, this is very important for ladies during and after they deliver, because pregnancy is a time when abdomen is stretched for a long time and they have to get back their tone, having exercises to regain their tone, a good high protein diet is very important to strengthen their abdominal muscles so they don’t develop a hernia in future.
Dr. G. Parthasarathy
Sr. Consultant, Surgical Gastroenterology,
Laparoscopic & Hepato-Pancreaticobiliary Surgery
KIMS Hospitals Secunderabad.