What is a hernia?
The most typical sign of a hernia is a bulge under your skin in the groin or abdomen. You may also feel pain when you lift, cough or strain. This common condition affects men, women and children of all ages.
The good news is, hernias are highly treatable with surgery and innovative hernia repair products from Gore. GORE Medical Products are designed to work in harmony with your body's own tissues, helping to reduce complications following surgery. Additionally, many Gore products are ideal for use in laparoscopic procedures, which offer the benefits of less pain, reduced hernia recurrence, and quicker recovery time. Best of all, after successful treatment, you're free to get back to your regular activities and lifestyle.
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or part of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hernia occurs when there is a weakness or tear in your abdominal wall as a result of aging, injury, a previous surgical incision, or a condition present at birth.
Hernias generally grow larger due to pressure on them, such as a loop of your intestine or fatty tissue pushing into the weak abdominal tissue or tear. The result is a sac that forms in the abdominal wall. You may or may not see a bulge at this point.
As more abdominal contents push into the sac, a bulge will appear. Sometimes the bulge can be flattened out by lying down or pushing against it. Though a hernia at this stage - known as a reducible hernia - is not an emergency situation, you will likely still need surgery to repair it.
If the intestine gets trapped, or is non-reducible, it is called an incarcerated hernia, and can be quite painful. The bulge cannot ordinarily be flattened out and immediate surgery may be needed. A hernia that becomes tightly trapped, or strangulated, loses blood supply, blocks intestinal flow, and requires emergency surgery.
Unfortunately, a hernia won't go away on its own. In fact, hernias typically get worse over time, making hernia repair surgery the standard of care.
Do you have a hernia? Learn about hernia signs and symptoms.
How a Hernia Develops
Who can get a hernia?
Types of hernia
Wall Weakens or
|  Intestine Pushes into the Sac
As the intestine pushes further into the sac, it forms a visible bulge. The bulge may flatten when you lie down or push against it. This is called a reducible hernia and does not cause any immediate danger.
|  Intestine May Become Trapped
The sac containing the intestine may become trapped (incarcerated). If this happens, you won't be able to flatten the bulge. You may also have pain. Prompt treatment may be needed.
|  Intestine May Be Strangulated
If the intestine is tightly trapped, it becomes strangulated. The strangulated area loses blood supply and may die. This can cause severe pain and block the intestine. Emergency surgery is needed to relieve the blockage.
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Types of hernia
- Inguinal hernias – occur when part of your bowel pokes through your lower abdomen into your groin.
- Femoral hernias – occur when fatty tissue or a part of your bowel pokes through into your groin, at the top of your inner thigh.
- Incisional hernias – occur when tissue pokes through a surgical wound in your abdomen that has not fully healed.
- Umbilical hernias – occur when fatty tissue or a part of your bowel pokes through your abdomen near your navel (belly button).
- Hiatus hernias – occur when part of your stomach pushes up into your chest by squeezing through an opening in the diaphragm (the thin sheet of muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen).
- Epigastric hernias – occur when fatty tissue pokes through your abdomen, between your navel and the lower part of your sternum (breastbone).
- Spigelian hernias – occur when part of your bowel pokes through your abdomen at the side of your abdominal muscle, below your navel.
- Muscle hernias – occur when part of a muscle pokes through your abdomen; muscle hernias can also occur in leg muscles as the result of a sports injury.
Inguinal hernias
- sex – they are more common in men than in women
- age – your risk of developing one increases as you get older
- being obese – having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or over
- doing lots of heavy lifting
- having a long-term cough
- having long-term constipation (an inability to empty your bowels)
Incisional hernias
Umbilical hernias
Hiatus hernias
Assessing and treating hernias
- cause an obstruction in the bowel
- interrupt the blood supply to the herniated tissue (known as a strangulated hernia)
- where the hernia is located – femoral hernias and hernias in the groin are more likely to require surgery; abdominal hernias less likely
- your symptoms – some hernias may not cause symptoms, others may be painful
- the content of your hernia – the hernia may consist of part of your bowel, muscle or other tissue
In the United States about 800,000 people per year undergo surgery to repair inguinal hernias (also called groin hernias) and another 500,000 undergo surgery to repair ventral hernias (abdominal hernias not in the groin area).
While it's difficult to predict when and where a hernia will occur, the lifetime risk of inguinal hernia for men is 27%. Direct inguinal hernias typically occur in men over 40. Men may also experience any type of ventral abdominal hernia, including incisional, epigastric, and umbilical.
Hernias occur less frequently in women, with the lifetime risk of inguinal hernia in women being 3%. Women are at greater risk than men for femoral hernias, or may require surgical repair for ventral abdominal hernias.
One type of ventral hernia, the umbilical hernia, can occur in infants and children. This can be the result of an abdominal wall defect that is present at birth. Children can also get an indirect inguinal hernia, causing a bulge that can be seen and felt.
Hernias can occur anywhere in your abdomen (the area of your body between your chest and hips).
There are several different types of hernia, which are described below.
Different types of hernia tend to affect different groups of people. About three-quarters of all abdominal hernias are inguinal hernias.
Inguinal hernias are the most common type of hernia, and account for three out of four hernia cases.
About 1 in 4 men and 3 in every 100 women will have an inguinal hernia at some point during their lifetime.
In England, during 2010-11, just under 71,000 surgical operations were carried out to repair inguinal hernias.
Risk factors for inguinal hernias include:
Femoral hernias are less common than inguinal hernias, with around 3,500 femoral repair operations carried out in England during 2010-11.
Femoral hernias are about four times more common in women than men, and can affect women of any age. Apart from sex and age, femoral hernias have similar risk factors to inguinal hernias.
Incisional hernias can develop as a complication of abdominal surgery. The risk of an incisional hernia developing after surgery will vary depending on the type of surgery involved.
Umbilical hernias are very common in infants, particularly in black infants. The reasons why they tend to affect black infants more are unclear.
In 9 out of 10 cases, an umbilical hernia will get better without treatment as a child gets older.
Hiatus hernias are common, affecting up to 1 in 10 people.
They do not always cause symptoms, although in some people they can cause heartburn (pain or discomfort in the chest that usually occurs after eating).
A hernia will often be assessed using an ultrasound scan, which uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of part of the inside of the body.
In many cases, hernias cause no (or very few) symptoms. However, there is a chance that a hernia could:
Both are medical emergencies. If they occur, you should go immediately to the accident and emergency (A&E)department of your nearest hospital.
Due to potential risks associated with these complications, surgery to repair a hernia is usually recommended.
The exceptions to this are umbilical hernias, which usually get better on their own, and hiatus hernias, which are sometimes initially treated with medication. In some cases, surgery is also needed for hiatus hernias.
Read more about treating hiatus hernias.
If you have a hernia, whether or not you will need surgery will depend on:
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