Don't ignore the small size of hernia

Hernia refers to the movement of organs or tissues from their normal anatomical positions through holes, defects, or weak points into other parts of the body. It is more common in crying babies, people with difficulty urinating, people with chronic cough or constipation, people with abdominal wall trauma and infection, people with poor surgical wound healing, and people who lift weights or carry heavy objects for a long time. If you find a hernia, no matter how big or small the hernia is, you should seek medical attention and get treatment as soon as possible. So how much do you know about hernia? Let's take a look at the knowledge about hernia.

1. Symptoms of hernia

The first thing to talk about is the common symptoms of hernia. Hernia can occur in many parts of the human body, but most of them are located in the abdomen, so extra-abdominal hernia is more common in clinical practice. Patients can not only see lumps, but also have symptoms such as abdominal pain and bloating. Even standing for a long time or excessive force may aggravate the pain. However, lying flat can appropriately reduce the pain.

The next thing to talk about is the typical symptoms of hernia, which should be discussed in combination with the type of hernia. For example: (1) Diaphragmatic hernia is more common in elderly women. Patients usually have symptoms such as upper abdominal pain and a sense of pressure when breathing. In addition, the nature of the hernia contents is different, and the clinical symptoms of patients are different. For example, patients with hiatal hernia generally have no symptoms. Even if symptoms occur, they are mild and often manifested as acid reflux, chest pain, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, shortness of breath, and other symptoms similar to those of reflux esophagitis; (2) Femoral hernia is more common in middle-aged and older women who have given birth. Although there is a lump, it is small and often located on the right side. The symptoms are mild, so patients pay attention to it. The degree of hernia is low, but as the disease progresses, adhesions of the hernia sac and the greater omentum are likely to occur, which will cause the contents to be unable to return normally, thus deteriorating from a femoral hernia to an irreversible hernia, which will not only make treatment more difficult but also affect the patient's health; (3) Reducible hernia: If a lump appears in the inguinal area and only appears when the patient exerts force, such as when standing or coughing violently, and disappears when lying flat, it is a reducible hernia, and the lump will gradually increase as the disease worsens; (4) Reducible hernia: If the disease is not treated for a long time, it is easy to develop mild inflammation, and the hernia contents will adhere to the inner wall of the sac, resulting in the contents being unable to return normally.

2. The harm of hernia

Hernia can easily affect multiple systems such as urinary reproduction and digestion, and may even endanger the patient's life. Specifically, the hazards of hernia mainly include the following aspects:

First of all, hernia will affect daily life. When the symptoms of hernia are mild or not obvious, the patient may not easily notice it. But if the hernia continues to worsen and the lump becomes larger in severe cases, it will not only affect the appearance, but also may cause obvious pain in daily life due to standing or walking. The pain can only be relieved by lying down.

Secondly, hernia will affect the effect of surgery. As the hernia condition worsens, the clinical symptoms will gradually become obvious. The patient will be unable to walk normally due to increased pain. At this time, due to the large size of the tumor and the large defect area, it is difficult to effectively repair the defect with conventional patches.

Secondly, hernia will affect the digestive system. Hernia may not only cause symptoms such as abdominal distension, abdominal pain, and constipation, but may also induce complications such as intestinal incarceration and intestinal strangulation, and may even cause intestinal necrosis in patients.

Finally, hernia can affect the urinary and reproductive systems. For example, a hernia formed in the groin is close to the urinary and reproductive system, so it can easily affect the development of children's reproductive organs, cause sexual dysfunction in middle-aged people, lead to female infertility, and cause frequent and urgent urination in the elderly.

3. Treatment of hernia

The first is hernia belt therapy, which is a method of treatment using instrumental fixation. It has the advantages of being convenient, low-cost, painless, without any toxic side effects, and not interfering with daily life and work.

The second is surgical treatment, which is best performed as soon as possible. Patients with increased intra-abdominal pressure such as ascites, severe constipation, and dysuria should be treated before surgery to avoid postoperative recurrence. There are many surgical methods for treating hernias, such as: (1) Traditional hernia repair, which involves a large incision of about 6 to 8 cm in length after surgery. The disadvantages are that postoperative pain and other discomforts are common, the recovery time is long, and the recurrence rate is high. (2) Open tension-free hernia repair, which involves a medium incision of about 4 to 6 cm in length after surgery. The advantages are that the pain is mild, the recovery is fast, and the recurrence rate is low. (3) Laparoscopic hernia repair, which involves three small incisions of about 1 cm in length after surgery. The advantages are that the wound is small, the pain is mild, the recovery is fast, the recurrence rate is low, and there is no local pulling sensation. The disadvantages are that the recurrence rate is high and complications such as injury may occur due to puncture of the wound, placement of the endoscope, and pneumoperitoneum.

In short, hernia is a common disease, but because the disease continues to develop, it can easily affect the patient's physical and mental health. Therefore, you should seek medical treatment in time after discovering a hernia. You should not be lucky enough to have a hernia. Otherwise, the disease will cause complications such as peritonitis, intestinal perforation, etc., which will affect the patient's physical health.

Author: Liu Shiyuan, Bobai County People's Hospital, Yulin City, Guangxi