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indirect inguinal hernia repair
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Indirect inguinal hernia repair | Symptoms and risks

Indirect inguinal hernia repair | Brief insight

Indirect inguinal hernia repair is done for the type of inguinal hernia in which the abdominal content such as the fat or bowel pushes down along the inguinal canal of the body.

Definition of the inguinal canal

The inguinal canal is a tunnel in the body through which the man’s vas deferens and testicular vessels come down into the scrotum. The same type of tunnel also exists in females, but in them, there is a ligament present, which is, in actuality, a suspensory for the uterus. This tunnel takes the structures from inside the pelvis downwards, a natural weak point in the human anatomy.

Men are more prone to getting the indirect inguinal hernia than females, and the reason is that tunnel has to get wide enough for the testicles to descend from the abdomen to down into the scrotum. If any of the testicles don’t descend, it is called an undescended hernia. Indirect inguinal hernia repair is needed to fix that. Another common hernia repair is abdominal hernia repair.

Indirect inguinal hernia symptoms

Following are the symptoms of the indirect inguinal hernia:

  • A visible bulge in the groin that is usually the first symptom
  • In infants with indirect inguinal hernia, bulges can be visibly seen, especially when the baby is crying.
  • Significant pain can be felt in the groin region, which is hinting at getting indirect inguinal hernia repair.
  • In some cases, a dull pain but in others, it could be a sharp pain.
  • Pain can radiate towards the inner thighs to the scrotum and in females towards the labia.
  • Indirect inguinal hernia treatment is needed to relieve all these symptoms as if the bowel is involved; then the patient might feel discomfort in the abdomen or even in the pelvis too.

 Warning signs involved in Indirect inguinal hernia repair

Indirect inguinal hernia usually causes bowel obstruction as compared to direct inguinal hernia. This condition can further cause a lot of pain for the patient. Other signs can include discoloration of the area of the bulge; it can turn purple or red. In case of any of such symptoms, indirect inguinal hernia repair is needed immediately.

Risk factors involved

As it is mentioned above, being a male is a huge risk factor in an indirect inguinal hernia. This condition can be hereditary too for men. While in some cases, they might not have heard about the inguinal hernia at all, but the known risk factor is smoking for causing that. But when the surgery is carried out laparoscopically, so there are less chances of infection and scarring, other surgeries that are carried out laparoscopically are, laparoscopic colon surgery, laparoscopic appendectomy,  and also laparoscopic splenectomy