Hernia surgery may sound scary but the experience was actually quite mild.
I was diagnosed with inguinal hernia in the groin area. It was not painful and I never realized it was there until a routine check-up.
Immediately I was put down for surgery. It was a day surgery and done in just a couple of hours. I did have to stay overnight at the hospital but just as a precautionary measure.
There was no pain during the surgery as I was under general anesthesia and wasn’t conscious during the surgery.
All in all, I maintained optimism throughout and the surgery was a success. So a lot will boil down to your personal strength of will, especially for more major surgeries. But keep your hopes up!
Overview
Treatment of hernia has advanced over the years. Hernia repair should usually be done swiftly in order to prevent complications such as organ dysfunction, gangrene or even death.
Most abdominal hernias can be surgically repaired and are not major. Recovery rarely requires long-term changes in lifestyle or long period of recuperation.
Uncomplicated hernias are usually repaired by “reducing” the herniated tissue and then fixing the weakness in the muscle tissue (surgery called herniorrhaphy). Modern surgery could involved insertion of a mesh to strengthen the tissue. Staples may be used to keep the mesh in place and these can be removed from the patient later when the wound has healed. Alternatively, some repairs are performed through laparoscopes.
In laparoscopic surgery, one or more small incisions are made for the camera and instruments to be inserted instead of the surgeon’s bare hands.
Patients can usually return to normal duties or school/work within a week or two, but physical activities may be limited for a longer period of time. Complications are rare, but infections, hernia recurrence etc are possible.