A ventral hernia is when an organ or intestine pushes through the abdominal wall, often after surgery. Symptoms include a bulge and pain, and a strangulated hernia requires immediate medical attention. Surgery is the main treatment, but repairing the weakened muscles can be difficult.
A ventral hernia occurs in the abdomen and is a piece of intestine or other organ that pushes through the muscular wall of the abdomen. These are more often called incisional hernias because they usually develop along an area where an incision (cut) was made for surgery. Some people have ventral hernias that occur soon after surgery on the abdomen, and others can develop them years after surgery.
Common symptoms of a ventral hernia include a noticeable bulge in the stomach. Some people may experience pain at the site of the hernia when they do things like lift heavy objects or cough. Symptoms can be very mild or they can become very complicated and represent a medical emergency. If the hernia is strangulated, it means that it is getting insufficient blood for the protruding tissues or organs. This can cause very severe pain and some people will experience vomiting or nausea.
While this type of hernia always deserves medical attention, the symptoms of a strangulated hernia require immediate medical attention. This is a very serious condition and usually requires immediate surgical repair.
When a person suspects a ventral hernia, they should see a doctor, as mentioned. Your doctor will likely examine the area, take a medical history, including history of previous surgeries, and may order tests such as X-rays or other more extensive scans. These tests can give you a good sense of the amount of protrusion and the tissue or organs that may be involved in the protrusion.
Approximately 100,000 surgeries are performed to repair ventral hernias in the United States alone. Most of these surgeries are not done under emergency circumstances, as many people will notice these hernias right away and report them to doctors. Surgery is usually the main treatment for most hernias, because they are likely to get worse if ignored, given the weakness of the abdominal muscles caused by previous surgery.
There are a couple of methods for surgical repair. These include performing open surgery on the abdomen to replace protruding organs and to support the abdominal muscles. Some hernia repairs can be done laparoscopically, which is less invasive. One of the difficulties in repairing ventral hernias is that the already operated skin tissue and muscles are weaker. Sometimes people have surgery and then require another if this type of hernia develops after the repair.
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