Hernia surgery is generally considered a safe, common procedure, but like any surgery, it carries risks like infection, bleeding, pain, nerve damage, or mesh complications (if used), with rare but serious risks including bowel injury or blood clots. The risk level depends on the patient's health, hernia type, and if it's an emergency, with elective surgeries having lower risks than urgent repairs, especially if the bowel is involved. Serious complications like bowel obstruction or death are rare but possible, particularly in emergency cases.
Elective hernia surgery is a low-risk procedure. Patients with emergency operations are approximately a decade older than patients treated electively. Emergency operations are 3 times more common in femoral than in inguinal hernia, and they carry a substantial mortality risk especially if bowel resection is performed.
Hernia surgery can be major or minor surgery. It depends on whether it is done through open surgery or minimally invasive surgery. Both types of surgery aim to put the protruding tissue back in place. Sometimes a type of mesh is implanted in the area to provide extra support for the weakened muscle.
Unfortunately, there is no such a thing as a risk-free medical procedure. Nevertheless, having surgery today is very safe. The rate of successful repair is over 95%, and the risk of complications or hernia recurrence is low – usually less than 5%. The risk of infection is very low, less than 1%.
Reports of 90 – 99% success rates are common. Mesh repairs, in many cases, offer a smaller chance of hernia recurrence rate than non-mesh repairs. Unfortunately, some repairs may lead to very high incidence of chronic pain, which can range from 5-15%. The key is to find a surgeon that performs a lot of hernia surgery.
Typically, how long does hernia mesh last can range between 10 to 15 years, and in most cases, it lasts a lifetime. Synthetic meshes, made from durable polymers, are designed for permanent reinforcement, while absorbable meshes gradually dissolve after providing temporary support.
If your hernia is causing you pain and affecting your life, you might choose to have surgery. The aim of surgery is to reinforce the tear in the muscle that is causing the hernia, reduce the chance of it coming back and help with pain and discomfort.
You and your doctor may want to put off surgery if: The hernia is small and you don't have any symptoms, or if the symptoms don't bother you much. The hernia can be pushed back into the belly or it goes away when you lie down. (If it cannot be pushed back, surgery must be done sooner.)
Most people are able to return to work within 1 to 2 weeks after surgery. But if your job requires that you do heavy lifting or strenuous activity, you may need to take 4 to 6 weeks off from work. You may shower 24 to 48 hours after surgery, if your doctor okays it. Pat the cut (incision) dry.
While the majority of hernia surgeries are successful, there is a chance that a hernia could return months or even years after hernia surgery. When hernias reappear near or at the location of a previous repair, they are called recurrent hernias.
Approximately 1 in 10 patients experienced decision regret following ventral and incisional hernia repair with laparoscopy, as the much-hyped and anticipated benefits of faster recovery and minimal pain did not match their actual postoperative experiences.
Robotic Hernia Surgery. Robotic surgery is a newer technique for repairing hernias. It's a minimally invasive procedure that's an alternative to traditional open surgery. During the procedure, your surgeon sits at a console and maneuvers the surgical instruments (robot) from the console.
Inguinal hernias are dangerous because they tend to keep getting larger and your intestine can get trapped inside the bulge and lose its blood supply. This is called a strangulated inguinal hernia, and surgery may be needed to correct the problem.
As with any surgery, most patients experience some post operative pain in the area of their hernia repair. Most patients will also experience some level of swelling and bruising in the area. The first 2-3 days are usually the worst for most patients.
Hernia surgery risks
Bruising, or infection and bleeding at the incision site. Problems with urinating if the hernia was in the groin. Accumulation of fluid, called a seroma, at the prior site of the hernia.
The "6-2 rule" for inguinal hernias in children is a guideline for surgical timing: Neonates (birth-6 weeks) need surgery within 2 days; children 6 weeks to 6 months need it within 2 weeks; and children over 6 months need it within 2 months, because younger infants have a higher risk of incarceration (strangulation). For adults or older children with reducible hernias, some sources suggest seeing a surgeon if symptoms last over six weeks.
Surgery is almost always the recommended route, and many professionals believe that you should never delay hernia surgery. Even if you are not noticing any pain or unusual problems with it, the small hernia may become larger.
Robert Liston's most notorious surgery yielded 300% mortality. The patient, the surgical assistant, and a family member bystander, each of whom felt the blade of Dr. Liston's slashing amputation knife, died of gangrene in the days following.
This risk is dependent on your own personal risk factors and varies based on patient and also surgical technique. These include mesh infection, mesh folding, and mesh-related pain or reaction, such as Mesh Implant Illness. Mesh infection is usually a low risk, as most hernia repairs are performed in a clean field.
Surgeries that have high failure rates:
You risk the chance you will develop a bowel obstruction or an incarcerated hernia. This emergency occurs when the intestines push through the abdominal wall and become pinched, preventing your bowels from functioning properly. The result is waste build-up and a rupture. Sepsis and possible death can be the result.
A less well-recognized complication after laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair is small bowel obstruction. This may be due to adhesions to, or entrapment under, the mesh as seen with the intraperitoneal on-lay mesh technique, which has been reported.
An inguinal hernia happens when tissue, such as part of the intestine, pokes through a weak spot in the abdominal muscles. The resulting bulge can be painful, especially when coughing, bending over or lifting a heavy object.