Groin Hernia

A groin hernia occurs when tissue or part of the intestine bulge through a weak point in the abdominal wall and into the groin.

The two main types of groin hernia are inguinal hernias and femoral hernias.

Inguinal hernias represent about 75 percent of abdominal wall hernias. They may be present at birth or develop later in life. About 90 percent of inguinal hernias occur in men.
Femoral hernias represent roughly 3 percent of all hernias, and over 90 percent occur in women.

In both inguinal and femoral hernias, surgery is often recommended to avoid potential Complications such as strangulation, which is when a portion of the bowel becomes trapped, cutting off its blood supply.

Because of the increased Risk of Complications, physicians typically recommended that femoral hernias are fixed quickly (although typically not on an emergency basis). Inguinal hernias, on the other hand, should be fixed electively if they are symptomatic. If they are not symptomatic, they can be observed after a discussion with doctor.

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Risk Factors
Symptoms

Risk Factors

Heavy lifting or other strenuous activities may contribute to a groin hernia developing, though most patients with a groin hernia have no prior Risk factors.

Symptoms

In most cases, patients with an inguinal hernia present with a bulge in the groin or swelling of the scrotum. They may also experience pain when:

Coughing
Sneezing
Lifting heavy objects
Standing for long periods of time

Patients with a femoral hernia often present with a small bulge where the inner thigh meets the groin.

How is it diagnosed?

Proper medical and surgical history and then carefully examine the affected area. A Diagnosis of a groin hernia may be confirmed via imaging tests such as:

Ultrasounds
Computed tomography (CT) scans
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans

In addition, these tests may help pinpoint where the hernia is located and decide on the best Treatment option.

How is it treated?

Observation: In some milder cases.
Elective surgical repair: Some groin hernias cause excessive pain or discomfort, which may lead to elective (non-emergency) surgical repair.
Emergency surgical repair: Urgent or emergent surgery may be needed in the rare cases in which a groin hernia strangle a portion of the intestine.

Surgical repair of a groin hernia involves closing the weakness in the abdominal wall and reinforcing it, sometimes with synthetic mesh material. The method used depends on hernia's size and location, general health and expected level of future physical activity.

Different types of groin hernia surgery

Open hernia repair: This involves making an incision over the hernia site and pushing the bulging tissue or organ back in place and then closes the hole with sutures or with a combination of sutures and plastic mesh.
Laparoscopic hernia repair: This is a minimally invasive procedure in which small incisions, a tiny video camera, special surgical tools and a piece of plastic mesh are used to repair the hernia.
Robotic hernia repair: This procedure is similar to laparoscopic repair. In this case, we uses robot-assisted technology to guide the movements of the surgical tools precisely.

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