Take hernia seriously, neglect could cost you dear: Doctors

Bengaluru: When health problems are neglected for fear of inviting public shame, they can have serious consequences. Luckily for 39-year-old Vineet (name changed), his neglect of his hernia has not cost him greatly, but this is no reason to avoid treating the condition, warn doctors.

Embarassed by his condition, Vineet had avoided even going out as the swelling was visible from under his clothes, making it difficult for him to walk. So by the time he went for a consultation, the  hernia had grown from the groin to his knee joint. Diagnosed with severe congenital inguinal hernia, he was recommended laparoscopic surgery using a mesh repair technique.

An inguinal hernia occurs when a sac-like projection of the abdominal cavity extends down the groin on one or both sides toward the scrotum (in boys) or labia (in girls). It is seen in 10 to 30 per cent of pre-term infants and one to five per cent of full-term infants, with boys outnumbering girls. While inguinal hernia repair is a fairly common surgical procedure, what made this case complex was the extent to which the hernia had grown.

A CT scan of Vineet's abdomen showed that the entire small bowel including the caecum ( the first portion of the large bowel) and appendix had moved down into the scrotum. Only the large bowel remained in the abdomen.

On receiving clearance from the concerned team of doctors, Dr. Moinoddin, consultant bariatric and advanced laparoscopic surgeon at Gleneagles Global hospitals, Richmond Road, and his team decided to proceed with a laparoscopic inguinal hernia mesh repair. The surgery took place in early December and lasted for two hours. This was the largest hernia addressed at the hospital.

Vineet is now back to normal and was able to walk within three hours of his operation. He also came in for his first follow- up and there have been no signs of recurrence of the problem.

 Dr. Moinoddin notes that as hernia involves a private part, many people tend to shy away from treating it. "It is better for patients not to drag the problem for long, but address it when it is small as this would make surgery easy and avoid complications," he advised.