Hernia

Hernia is an abdominal displacement of organs or their parts outside the cavity in which they are normally located. In the case of the abdominal cavity, this is a displacement of the intestinal section outside the muscles forming the abdominal wall. Hernias can be divided into congenital (diagnosed as early as in utero) and acquired. Abdominal hernia develops most often in sites with the so-called reduced resistance, i.e. where the muscles connect with each other or with the bone, and where there are located large blood vessels or nerves.

Sites in which the musculofascial loss occurs most often - and in consequence also hernia - include the inguinal canal (males), the femoral canal (females), umbilicus, the abdominal median line and any post-operative/post-traumatic scar on the abdomen. This is because the inguinal canal is naturally extended in men due to the presence of the spermatic cord (vas deferens, nerves, blood vessels and cremaster muscle), and there is more chance of the abdominal cavity contents dislocating there. In females, the femoral hernia is more common, in the canal undergoing extension, which often happens after childbirth.

Hernia symptoms vary from a small protrusion, to a disfiguring, causing discomfort or pain, persistent swelling of the affected area. The most serious threat of this disease is bowel incarceration in the hernia sack. In such a case, lack of quick surgical intervention can lead to the necrosis of intestinal wall with a leakage of intestinal contents and to peritonitis, and ultimately even to patient's death.