What is minimally invasive hernia surgery?

Generally, newborns or the elderly are more likely to suffer from hernia, but middle-aged people may also suffer from hernia. It can be treated through minimally invasive surgery. Not only is the wound smaller and the pain less, the recovery is faster and the amount of bleeding is also less. This can effectively shorten the hospitalization time and return to your warm home as soon as possible.

Symptoms of colic in babies

Hernias in babies can occur days, months, or years after birth. Usually, after a child cries, exercises, or has a bowel movement, there will be a bulge in the groin, which sometimes extends to the scrotum or labia; it may disappear on its own after resting in bed or sleeping. In severe cases, the patient may experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, or crying and restlessness.

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Nonsurgical treatment

Doctors may give hernia belts to elderly or debilitated people who are at risk for surgery, which can temporarily prevent the intestines from protruding. A hernia brace is used after the doctor pushes the intestines back out; it is a pad made of a tough material that is fixed to the hernia site with a bandage to further prevent the abdominal organs from falling out of the hernia sac. The hernia support belt must be worn all day long. Please be reminded that it may cause skin ulcers. You can first apply a thin layer of powder (such as baby powder) to protect the skin. It should also be emphasized that hernia support belts cannot absolutely prevent potentially fatal complications (intestinal incarceration and obstruction), and long-term use may cause skin ulcers and even testicular discomfort and atrophy.

Minimally invasive surgery

Minimally invasive surgery to repair hernia notch remains the best and most effective treatment. The surgical method is to push the intestines back into the abdominal cavity, directly suture the gap in the abdominal wall, or take side wall tissue to fill the gap. If the gap is difficult to fill, an artificial omentum will be sutured. The surgical approach is different for children and adults. The instructions are as follows:

a. Children: The protruding intestines are pushed back, and then the abnormal opening of the hernia in the abdominal wall is ligated and closed. This operation is called high ligation.

b. Adults: Tissue suturing: This is a more traditional method, which is to sew up the weaker abdominal wall.

Tension-free method: It uses artificial omentum to repair hernia. The advantages of this surgery are short operation time, rapid patient recovery, low recurrence rate, and reduced postoperative pain. Only partial or local anesthesia is required, and you can be discharged from the hospital on the same day or the next day of the operation, and you can resume your normal life after about a week. However, not all hernias are suitable for repair with artificial mesh, and the size and shape of the hernia need to be considered. This repair method is of great value for hernias in the elderly or recurrent hernias.

Endoscopic method: The latest method is to use laparoscope to enter the abdominal cavity to perform surgery; since this method requires general anesthesia and the use of artificial omentum, it is more expensive. At present, the surgical method is still immature and is rarely used at home and abroad. However, because its wound is small in appearance and recovers quickly, it may develop well in the future.

Anesthesia method: The anesthesia methods used for surgery and anesthesia for adults can be divided into local anesthesia, hemiplegia or general anesthesia. Most hernia surgeries use hemiplegia, and only more complicated hernias require general anesthesia. As for children, general anesthesia is used and they are asleep during the operation.

Most surgical repairs of hernias can be completed within one or two hours, and usually require hospitalization for one to three days. Sometimes, depending on the method of surgery and the patient's condition, hospitalization is not required after the surgery and the patient can go home directly to recuperate. Patients can resume their normal life one week after the stitches are removed.

Advantages of minimally invasive surgery

The advantage of pediatric minimally invasive therapy is that it is an emerging surgical method in recent years. It is characterized by small wounds, fast surgery, no need for hospitalization after surgery, and relatively little harm to the body. The incision is only 0.5-1.0cm in size, and there is only slight pain in the wound after surgery. The operation time is about 20 minutes. Because the incision is small, tissue damage is minimal, and the amount of bleeding is small, hospitalization is not required, and the child does not need anti-inflammatory injections after surgery. The cost of a national tertiary hospital is approximately between 2000 and 2500.

Small wound

The tiny incision on the abdomen, 0.5cm to 1cm, leaves almost no scar and is known as the "keyhole".

Mild pain

The patient feels little pain, the surgery is performed under intravenous anesthesia, and the patient completes the surgery while sleeping.

Fast recovery

It greatly reduces damage to organs and interference with organ functions, shortening postoperative recovery time.

Short hospital stay

Generally speaking, you can get out of bed 6-8 hours after the operation, eat after 12-24 hours of anal gas discharge, be discharged from the hospital in 3-5 days, and basically recover after a week, and the cost is relatively low.

Less bleeding

There is almost no bleeding during the operation. Minimally invasive surgery provides a clearer field of view, allows for more precise blood vessel treatment, and uses advanced hemostatic devices such as ultrasonic scalpels to help reduce bleeding.