Chandigarh, Panchkula, March 25: Increased sedentary lifestyle and an equal increase in the number of people suffering from intestinal problems in India calls for a national health program on this issue. One such ever-increasing problem is a hernia. Dr. Gaurav Maheshwari, Associate Director, GI Surgery, and Dr. RK Batra, Senior Consultant, General Surgery interacted with media persons on the occurrence of hernia, its prevention, and treatment.
About 25 % of males and 2 % of females develop inguinal hernias; this is the most common hernia in males and females: Dr. Gaurav Maheshwari
Dr. Gaurav Maheshwari informed that they will be observing “Hernia Week” in the last week of April. While disclosing this to media persons here today, Dr. Gaurav Maheshwari said that Hernia is an entity seen for ages and treatment has changed from steel wire repair to Laparoscopic soft mesh repairs.
Hernia Week to be observed at Paras Hospital, Panchkula in the last week of April
“Hernia is a common health problem which is operated by General and GI Surgeons but the significant point is the recurrence rate, which averages around 20-30 percent. New Techniques have been evolving to decrease recurrence rates but the effectiveness, operative complications, and cost of different techniques make none as a standard method, thus it is a patient-guided approach”, said Dr. Maheshwari. He further said that AWR – Abdominal Wall Reconstruction is a new concept, where weak abdominal muscles are given support from behind with a mesh and it works well, and recurrence rates
below 5 percent.
It is worth mentioning that Paras Hospital, Panchkula offers all types of techniques and it is an informed choice as well as best for an individual patient. The Complex and Recurrent Hernias have been managed by a team of Hospital experts – Dr. Rajender Kumar Batra and Dr. Gaurav Maheshwari, by
Laparoscopic and Open techniques.
Meanwhile, giving a PowerPoint Presentation (PPP) on Retro Rectus Abdominal Wall Reconstruction (RRAWR) – Latest trends in the Management Complex and Recurrent Abdominal Wall Hernias, Dr. Rajender Kumar Batra said that Incisional Hernia are increasing these days and the increase has been
attributed to various factors. “Successful abdominal wall reconstruction relies on careful pre-operative planning, thorough technical execution, close follow-up and appropriate selection of synthetic or bioprosthetic material when indicated”, he said.
Dr. Batra also said that smaller defects can be reconstructed with local or regional tissue rearrangement procedures while adding, “Whereas larger defects of the abdominal wall, which may have resulted from trauma or tumor extirpation, may require the use of myocutaneous flaps, synthetic or bio-prosthetic material, or both. These reconstructions can be performed in either one or two stages.”
Regarding the RRAWR or Sublay Repair, it was stated that as per the Irfan A Rhemtulla, John P Fischer. Retromuscular Sublay Technique for Ventral Hernia repair, “Until the perfect hernia repair is discovered, the Sublay repair remains to be the best option and is a strong case to be considered as the standard of care.”
Causes of Hernia: Activities and medical problems that increase pressure on the abdominal wall can lead to a hernia. These include:
Ø Straining in the toilet (due to long-term constipation, for example)
Ø Persistent Cough
Ø Cystic Fibrosis
Ø Enlarged Prostate
Ø Straining to Urinate
Ø Being Overweight/Obese
Ø Abdominal Fluid
Ø Lifting Heavy Items
Ø Peritoneal Dialysis
Ø Poor Nutrition
Ø Smoking
Ø Physical Exertion
Ø Undescended Testicles