Hernia is a small hole that allows an organ or other tissues to protrude through it. Incisional hernia can appear in the groin, the diaphragm, and the abdominal wall. According to studies results, 75% of incisional hernia occurs through the groin, with the fatty tissue and the intestine protruding through the hole. The rest of incisional hernias occur in the middle of the abdomen between the breastbone and the navel, through the navel, inside the abdomen, and through any part of the abdominal area where surgical incision is previously made, but failed to heal completely.
Incisional hernia symptoms include visible holes in the abdominal area and a soft bulge under the skin in the abdominal region, underneath or adjacent to the incision. Most incisional hernias are painless, but they often produce spontaneous dull ache, typically after acidity. The majority of incisional hernias are reducible, which means that their content move back and forth into the abdomen or pushed back into the abdomen. The bulge under the skin can get smaller or disappear after you lie down and relax for few minutes.
Prognosis for Incisional Hernia
Patients who go through elective hernia repair often do well, but incisional hernias can recur up to 10% for all patients. The prognosis for individuals who go through emergent hernia repair due to strangulated or incarcerated bowel depends to the extent of surgery, the severity of the damage in the intestine, and their underlying physical and health condition of the patient prior to the surgery. For these reasons, patients prefer elective hernia repair than other treatment procedures for the condition.
Furthermore, there’s no acceptable non-surgical treatment for the condition, nor it will disappear by itself without treatment. Incisional hernia may develop slowly for weeks, months, or may appear suddenly after activities with increased pressure happen inside the abdomen. Over the time, incisional hernias can get bigger and bigger and the larger the hernia, the more necessary a surgical treatment is.
How to Prevent Incision Hernia
While the recurrence of abdominal hernias is possible, there are certain things that you can do to lower the risks of recurrence. Your goal is to decrease the intra-abdominal pressure that put stress on the weak areas in the abdominal wall.
You can prevent the recurrence of incisional hernias by maintaining a healthy weight, stopping smoking to reduce recurrent coughing, eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly to reduce the risks and constipation, and preventing from restraining bowel movement. To decrease pressure in the abdomen, you have to use proper weight lifting techniques, particularly when lifting heavy weights. This is applicable at work, exercise, and in sports.
In the event that you have developed abdominal hernia, seek immediate medical care to evaluate your condition and get the proper treatment to prevent it from getting worse or becoming incarcerated. You can determine if you have developed symptoms of incisional hernia by examining your abdomen. You may have the condition if visible and palpable bulges are present trough the abdominal wall, within the vicinity of the previous incision.
