Hernia

Hernia is formed when an organ of your body pushes through an opening in the muscles which holds the organ in its place. Hernia is caused by excess strain and muscle weakness. It may happen due to weightlifting, coughing, aging, pregnancy, constipation, obesity etc. The common symptom for hernia is a bulge in the affected area which can be felt with your fingers. This lump is more palpable when you are standing and disappears when you lie down. There might be pain in the bulge area while coughing.

Most of the hernias can be easily diagnosed during a physical examination by the doctor. The imaging tests of Ultrasound Scan, CT Scan or MRI Scan can be used to confirm the diagnosis. For Hiatus hernia, Barium X-Ray or Endoscopy may also be useful in diagnosis. The different types of hernias are Inguinal, Hiatus, Umbilical, Incisional and Ventral. If the hernia is not increasing in size or is not giving any kind of pain.

Hernia Treatment

If the hernia is not causing any problems then surgery may not be required at this point. In some cases wearing tight compression garment helps in keeping the hernia in check. Losing body weight, doing exercises to strengthen the muscles around the hernia and eating fibre rich diet which eases constipation would help in the management of hernia without surgery. However surgery still remains the only permanent treatment for hernia.

The surgery is mostly done by giving an incision near the site of the hernia and the surgeon uses a mesh to tie-up the hernia so that it cannot grow in size any further. The surgery can also be done laparoscopically but is less common in cases of hernia as compared to the other abdominal surgeries. The hospital stay would be 2-3 days and the patient would need 10-15 days for recovery after the surgery. The recovery in laparoscopic surgery would be faster and the hospital stay would also be shorter. The most common problem in hernia surgery is infection acquired during the surgery which gets the mesh infected and does not respond to antibiotics. In such cases redo surgery is needed to remove the mesh and you are back to square one.

Best Doctors and Cost

Dr Anil Kumar Gupta is one of the most qualified and extensively trained General & Laparoscopic Surgeon for doing Hernia Surgery at APG Hospital. The cost of both the open and the Laparoscopic Hernia Repair is in the range of Rs. 50,000 - 70,000 depending upon whether mesh has been used in the surgery or not. The cost also depends on the room category chosen by you. Hernias are rarely operated through Laparoscope but some of the hernias can be done in minimally invasive way.

If you have an individual health insurance policy then this surgery is covered after a period of 2 years from the date of inception of the policy. However if you are a beneficiary of company given policy then the surgery is covered from day one. Always go through the terms of your health insurance policy like room rent capping and co-payment to avoid any kind of financial shocks later on.

Diabetic Neuropathy Full Recovery

International Patients Share Experiences

Amazing Recovery of Paralyzed Patient