Has anyone ever had this kind of hernia?!
Question:
Has anyone ever had this kind of hernia?
I have a hernia dead center in my torso. It seems to run vertically where the muscles connect and I've had it for years. But lately it has started bothering me and feels like it has gotten a little bigger. It didn't ever hurt before but for the last few weeks I have really been noticing it. Because of it's location, will the repair job be more painful than if it was located elsewhere? What would be involved with the procedure? Should I wait until I can have someone there to care for me for any length of time? Any info on this type of hernia would be appreciated especially if you can add more details than I am asking for. Thank you.
Answers:
Yours is called an umbilical hernia and develops from an incomplete joining of the muscles of the abdomen or from trauma that pulls the muscles apart.
There are muscles in the abdomen that run vertically and others that run diagonally. There is a film of connective tissue that joins the muscles on each side of the body and this film spreads out when descending past the umbilicus, aka belly button. Just as a point of information, the top layer of vertical muscles are called Rectus Abdominus and are symetrical on both sides of the belly. If a person has very little body fat and these muscles are very well-developed, a "six-pack" is visible.
The initial feeling you had was likely an incomplete separation of the connective tissue. Now that you are feeling more pain, the hernia might be complete. In this case, the concern is that part of the intestine might slide thru the hernia opening and get stuck. Without more information and some physical examination, it's not possible to give you any more than general information here.
Repair of an umbilical hernia is very straightforward. The traditional repair involves a small incision in your belly and reconnecting the tissues. You are usually in and out in one day and sometimes take antibiotics before or after.
You might consider having someone around for a couple of days just in case you feel uncomfortable, but I have known of patients who went back to work the next day. My surgeon friends usually do not prescribe any pain pills except Tylenol.