Hernia Surgery

What is a hernia?

A hernia is the bulging of abdominal content out through a weakness or defect in the muscular walls that normally hold them in. Hernias may arise through natural areas of weakness, most commonly the groins or umbilicus (belly button), but also frequently occur at the site of previous abdominal incisions. Usually people notice a lump that can sometimes it is painful. They unfortunately do not repair themselves and can enlarge and cause problems if left untreated, sometimes requiring emergency surgery.

How do you treat a hernia?

There are many different types of hernia and how they are fixed depends on many factors.

Hernia surgery has evolved dramatically during the last 10 years, and our specialists offer comprehensive personalised treatment of all types of abdominal wall hernias. Most hernia repairs are suitable for surgery as a day case or overnight stay.

The Specialist Centre also offers assessment and repair of large incisional and recurrent hernias. These are more complex, higher risk and require careful planning, preparation and selection of the most effective prostheses and techniques, specifically tailored to the patient and their hernia.

Obesity, smoking and diabetes are all things that can make hernia repairs fail. In fact, these factors are as important as the surgery itself. Your surgeon will discuss these with you before your operation.  The journey to a successful and durable repair involves preoperative optimisation, enhanced wound management and recovery programs, essential to achieving the best outcome possible, quicker recovery and return to work.

Occasionally, complex hernia repairs may be done together with an abdominoplasty to reduce wound problems and also achieve optimal functional as well as cosmetic results.