Fix that hernia right!
Fixing
that hernia the best way, the new way? This
is Dr. Steven Andrew Davis, Speaking of Health.
There are a lot of different kinds of “hernias”. You can get herniated disks in your back or
herniated fat on your foot; but to most minds, “hernia” means the inguinal
kind: part of the intestines pushing
through an internal wall in the groin region.
These hernias often need to be “repaired”, and now there are different
ways to do it. These hernias often need
to be “repaired”, and now there are different ways to do it.
The
open repair is where the surgeon cuts open the skin, delves down into the
layers and either pulls it together with sutures or puts in a special
mesh. A newer method uses the laparscope
inserted through a small opening to place the mesh retaining wall; the patient
does not really have to be cut open. And
which technique is best?
A
report published in the New England
Journal of Medicine looked at almost two thousand men who underwent one or
the other of those two types or repairs, and each had its advantages. The open technique had fewer complications
and fewer recurrences, but caused slightly more pain. With the laparoscopic approach, the long-term
outlook and complication rates were better for those surgeons who had done more
of those types of operations.
So, which way to fix a hernia? Your surgeon probably knows what’s best for
you and him or her – it’s not always an open or shut case. For a copy of this script, access our web site,
speakingofhealth.com. Speaking of
Health, I’m Dr. Steven Andrew Davis for CBS News.
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