OP
Surgery is recommended if extreme stress on the abdominal cavity or groin area cannot be avoided due to work or professional sports. There are 2 different surgical techniques, either the open procedure or the minimally invasive procedure. In both techniques an absorbable net is inserted into the affected area to retract the sac and close it. The advantage of the minimally invasive procedure is the few scars and thus reduced susceptibility to infection. With both techniques, however, part of the abdominal wall must be cut through, so that the abdominal muscle is affected in every case and causes pain such as sore muscles immediately after the operation.
For women
Men are more prone to inguinal hernia than women. In women, they occur more often in the course of pregnancy or birth. Since the skin, ligaments and tendons are also stretched due to the extreme expansion of the abdominal cavity during pregnancy, a sudden movement can lead to a hernia. Likewise, during the pressing process at birth, the inguinal region may be subjected to excessive strain, resulting in an inguinal hernia.
For children
In the course of the child’s development, different tissues close up piece by piece. Sometimes closures do not occur and thus, as in the groin area, a hernia can develop. This inguinal hernia is not painful in children and is usually discovered by chance as a swelling when the child is changed into diapers.
However, the hernia should be examined and is usually operated on to prevent the abdominal organs from rupturing. During the operation, the hernia sac is cleared and pushed back into the abdomen and the fracture is closed. There is no application of a net, because the child’s tissue is still before full development and the abdominal muscle activity only develops during the 1st year of life. The inguinal hernia is one of the most common reasons for surgery in small children. You will find extensive information on this topic in the following article: Physiotherapy for a child’s inguinal hernia
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