Inguinal hernia - choices?

[toontra]

I've suddenly developed a sizeable inguinal hernia. I'm resigned to going private as the NHS waiting list will no doubt be lengthy and I'm in considerable discomfort and occasional sharp pain.

The choice is either open (£2000) or keyhole surgery (£4000). I was wondering what people's respective experiences are of these types of procedures. Getting back on the bike and running again are my main concerns. For context I'm 67 and otherwise healthy. Any experiences welcome.

[tatanab]

At a similar age, a few years ago, I too went private.

I had open surgery (£3000) which healed very quickly. The following day I went for a one and a bit mile walk (carefully) just because exercise is recommended. I needed no pain killers at all ------HOWEVER no hernia was found, just a fatty lump that was removed, hence no internal surgery -- that may be significant..

A club mate had a real hernia a year or so later. Had keyhole surgery under NHS (at the private hospital I went to, but with a different surgeon). He was in pain for several days after, unable to do much due to bruising caused by being blown up like a balloon where the tools are inserted.

Of course, other people's experience may well differ.

[toontra]

Thanks for that. Glad you had a good outcome. My consultant seems to be in favour of open surgery but I'm not precisely sure why or if he realises how important cycling/gym/running is for me (although I did mention this to him) and that I'd really like to minimise recovery time. More questions needed!

[honesty]

I had an inguinal hernia 3 ish years ago. I’m 46 now. Good shout going private as I waited almost 2 years to have the repair on the NHS. Go key hole. I was back at exercise very quickly ( with some other complications now, but that’s a different story). The first week was out but was back to power lifting within 8 weeks (I left it a lot longer than when I actually felt better as I didn’t want to blow out the repair squatting….) and I felt the repair site wounds were comparatively very small.

[toontra]

This hernia actually happened in the gym! Was using the chest pull machine on my top weight and felt a sudden pain, then noticed the bulge. I suspect there must have been a weakness there already for that to happen. I do a lot of ab and core work and prided myself on having a pretty toned mid-section so this was a real surprise. I'm still doing weights but avoiding squats and chest pulls!

My instinct is to go with keyhole but I have to take onboard the surgeon's recommendation.

[honesty]

Mine happened over night, after a gym session. Supposedly 1 in 3 men will get this type of hernia.

I couldn’t do weights, cycle for a long distance, do yoga, or anything that required core work really. I still ate like I was exercising though. Which wasn’t the best idea…

Key hole is meant to be a faster recovery, which is why I went for it.

[maximus meridius]

I have what I am fairly sure is a small inguinal hernia. Sure because it's on the opposite side to where I had another one about 16 years ago.

I need to get an appointment with my GP and get myself into the system. It's been developing very very slowly, so in the meantime, what's the thinking on cycling, with a hernia?

[ken66]

I realised that I had an inguinal hernia in May of last year. Fortunately my limited private health insurance covered it (Benenden). My consultant said keyhole surgery was not an option for me because of previous radiotherapy affecting that area so I had an open surgical repair in September last year. I started with a one mile walk one week after surgery & gradually increased the distance. I was back on the bike with a 12 mile, one hour ride after 5 weeks. I gradually increased these distances. Unfortunately I realised that I had another hernia developing on the other side last December (1 in 5 probability of a second one developing according to my consultant). Whilst not as bad as the first one it was sufficiently uncomfortable for me to want it dealt with so had further open surgery in March this year. This time I started with a one mile walk after 5 days and a 12 mile, 1 hour ride after four and a half weeks.

To answer maximum meridius’ question I became aware of the first hernia 7 days before a long planned Lands End to John O’Groats bike ride. (Fully supported, 14 days with an average daily mileage of 70). After some serious thought I decided to go ahead with the ride & was able to complete it. That hernia freely popped in & out. I found that cycling caused it to return to where it belonged! By the time I had surgery longer more strenuous rides were becoming more of a problem. I am 73 and consider myself reasonably fit & healthy despite the banana skins in recent years!

[toontra]

Many thanks Ken. Good to hear you're recovered and managed your LEJoG in spite of the hernia. I'm still cycling but the hernia is growing in size and the discomfort increasing. The consultant reassured me the chances of it strangulating are very low - that was my major concern as I understand that can be life-threatening.

[ken66]

I too was assured by both my GP & consultant that the risk of strangulation was very low. With my hernias I found walking uncomfortable and standing still extremely uncomfortable after a few minutes. I needed to lay down for a few minutes to allow ‘relocation’ to occur. I only recall one occasion of discomfort cycling when I was on a hilly route trying to keep up with stronger faster riders but that was closer to surgery after the hernia had developed further. After the coffee stop I laid down outside (summertime) and then returned home solo at a more comfortable pace.

Good luck with your decision and surgery. There is no way I was prepared to wait longer than necessary for a repair on both occasions

[SporranMcDonald]

I remember this [ rebuilt ] topic from a few years ago : viewtopic.php?t=83550

Anyone here not had a hernia Op. ? </joking>

[toontra]

Thanks for that. Interesting reading!

[djnotts]

Trying to recall details of my experience - some 15 years ago?
Open surgery rather than key-hole on advice of a GP mate (when key hole fails simply switch to open and have to administer General Anaesthetic). Local Anaesthetic not General because my mate said always avoid latter if possible. (Before re-training as a GP he'd spent many years in hospitals and considered GA as always high-risk.) I was able to argue for local, not the surgeons' preferred General, because of lung problems and history of poor recovery.
As best I recall I kept to the recommended 6 weeks off my m'cycles, but back cycling a couple of weeks before that.
I still get twinges when lifting and reaching, but have never linked any symptoms to cycling.

[toontra]

Many thanks for that. I guess general anaesthetic is best avoided if possible which is a plus for open surgery under local. I think I could handle 4-6 weeks off the bike and I'd probably take it easy even with keyhole just to be on the safe side so maybe not much difference in reality.

[Jules59]

You may find this useful in the discussion with the surgeon about which method he or she will use.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/inguinal- ... t-happens/