Is surgery the only cure for a hernia?
A hernia will not heal on its own and will never go away without surgical intervention.
The only treatment for any hernia is surgical repair.
Hernias will never go away or heal by themselves. Thus, hernias need to be repaired. Unfortunately, there is no lotion, potion, medication, exercise, or physical therapy that will cure a hernia, despite what you may be told or read about on the internet. Hernias require surgery to repair. But, just as hernias are so common, so is hernia surgery. ​Hernia repair is one of the most common operation performed in routine surgical practice, and that's all we do at Advanced Hernia Specialists (AHS). We repair hernias almost every day.
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In the United States, the rates of inguinal hernia and ventral hernia repair have been steadily increasing since 2001, with now more than half of the repairs being performed on an outpatient elective basis.
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As noted in our other sections, there are many different types of hernias and there are many different techniques to repair them. There are also many different modalities to perform those different techniques. Different modalities or approaches include Open surgery (traditional surgery), Minimally Invasive surgery, Laparoscopic surgery, and Robotic surgery. Minimally Invasive surgery can be Open or Laparoscopic.
Techniques:
There are often different techniques for different types of hernias, and frankly, there are just too many to list here. Typically the techniques are named after the surgeon or surgeons who first described and popularized the technique. For example, just for inguinal hernias alone there are many techniques, such as the Lichtenstein, Shouldice, McVey, Basinni, Moloney Darn, Rutgow/Robbins, just to name a few.
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Hernia surgery has evolved over hundreds of years, and has really been revolutionized over the last 20 yrs. Today, "tension free" techniques using polypropylene mesh are still the standard for inguinal hernia repairs. The use of mesh provides low recurrence and complication rates. See the section on "Mesh vs Tissue (No Mesh)." Lichtenstein’s tension-free mesh repair is the standard technique used worldwide.
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See Approaches and Techniques in the section on "The Different Types of Hernia Surgery"
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NEXT STEPS:
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If you think you have a hernia or have been diagnosed with one by your doctor, please come see us at Advanced Hernia Specialists. We are experts in the field of hernia surgery, and we are committed to delivering excellent care and the best patient outcomes possible. We offer the most cost-effective options, as well as the most advanced laparoscopic, minimally invasive, and robotic surgical techniques for hernia repair.
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If you think you have a hernia, please schedule an appointment with us by calling 904-808-5658, emailing us​, using our online Contact Form, or Book Online.
