Postoperative hernia (cicatricial, ventral) is characterized by a displacement of internal organs (omentum, intestine) beyond the abdominal wall in the region of the scar, which was formed as a result of surgical intervention. In the area of scar tissue, a tumor-like protrusion occurs. When the patient is in a horizontal position, this protrusion disappears.
If you have a postoperative ventral hernia, immediately after the onset of the first clinical signs, you should seek the help of a surgeon. The first symptoms can manifest as nausea, vomiting, pain in the protrusion zone and abdomen, which are aggravated by physical exertion.
There are several factors that provoke the development of postoperative hernias. These include obesity, decreased immunity, exercise, severe coughing, vomiting and constipation. Also, medical errors during surgery should not be ruled out.
In order to diagnose a postoperative hernia, the patient needs to undergo a visual examination by a doctor and a number of instrumental examinations (abdominal tomography, x-ray examination of the small intestine and stomach, as well as ultrasound diagnostics and herniography). To perform herniography, a special contrast agent is introduced into the abdominal cavity .
It should be said that postoperative hernia develops in several stages. At the first stage of development of the disease, painless formations arise that are easily repaired. In case of sudden stress, shock, the formation increases in size, and the patient at the same time feels a little pain. In the process of increasing the size of the hernia, the pain sensations intensify and develop into pain attacks. When the intestine is pinched, its functioning is disrupted, which is often expressed in the form of belching, nausea, flatulence, constipation, stagnation of feces, which, of course, causes intoxication of the body. Patients with this disease often complain of general weakness and decreased activity.
Given the size and location of localization, postoperative hernias are classified into several groups: small, medium, large and giant. Small hernias do not change the shape of the abdomen. Medium and extensive hernias are most often localized on the anterior abdominal wall. Hernias of gigantic sizes are located in several places of the abdominal wall.
Postoperative hernia can cause a number of complications, which are manifested in the form of infringement of the hernial sac as a result of tissue compression. This phenomenon is often accompanied by coprostasis (fecal retention in the large intestine).
Emergency medical care is provided in the absence of bowel movement, nausea, vomiting, in the presence of blood in the stool, flatulence, pain in the abdomen, as well as in cases where it is impossible to set the hernia in a horizontal position of the patient with light pressure on it with a hand.
With a disease such as postoperative hernia, treatment is carried out using surgical intervention. This is best done in the early stages of the development of the disease, when the hernia is easily repaired, since over time it becomes irreparable. Gernioplasty can be performed at the expense of the patient’s own tissues and using synthetic materials. In the first case, the method of surgical intervention is effective only for hernias of small sizes (diameter of the hernia gate up to 5 cm). Most often, this type of operation is performed using local anesthesia. In the second case, hernioplasty uses a synthetic mesh, which is hemmed at the site of the abdominal wall defect. This method of treatment is more effective, it is carried out under general anesthesia. Relapses are very rare.