Last Updated: 11 December 2018
A hernia is where an internal part of the body pushes through a weakness in the muscle or surrounding tissue wall. The muscles are usually strong enough to keep the organs in place. However, a weakness may cause a hernia to occur.
A hernia is where an internal part of the body pushes through a weakness in the muscle or surrounding tissue wall. The muscles are usually strong enough to keep the organs in place. However, a weakness may cause a hernia to occur.
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 include:
- 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.
Schematic diagram showing the sites of a ventral, umbilical, Spigelian, and incisional hernias.
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:
- 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).
Schematic diagram showing the sites of groin hernias. These include inguinal (direct and indirect), and femoral hernias.
Femoral
hernias are less common than inguinal hernias, with around 3,500 femoral
repair operations carried out in England during 2012-13. 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:
- cause an obstruction in the
bowel
- interrupt the blood supply
to the herniated tissue (known as a strangulated hernia).
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.
If you have a hernia,
whether or not you will need surgery will depend on:
- 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.
If you
need surgery, your surgeon will explain the benefits and risks of the
procedure to you in detail.
Source: NHS Choices.
Source: NHS Choices.