Femoral Hernia

A femoral hernia occurs in the groin junction when the tissues in the lower abdomen push through the upper thigh region. Femoral hernia is common in women as the pelvis region is wider in women when compared to men.  Femoral canal contain the ligaments and functions to hold and support the uterus in position.

Symptoms of Femoral Hernia

• Sudden groin and abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Diagnosing Femoral Hernia

Femoral hernia causes pain in the abdominal area. The doctor suggests various tests to diagnose its presence including ultrasound scan or CT scan.  The hernia can get complicated when they gets strangulated or obstructed causing extreme pain while lifting heavy objects or during bowel movements.

• Hernia obstruction –The bulged tissues gets stuck in the femoral canal resulting in excessive pain, nausea and vomiting.
• Hernia strangulation –The strangulated hernia causes restriction of blood flow to the area and gets trapped in the femoral canal. The condition requires emergency surgery to restore the blood supply to the area.

Causes

There are many factors that lead to the formation including:

• excess strain during bowel movement
• constipation
• heavy weight lifting
• obesity
• Chronic cough

Treatment

The surgery is initiated by administering a dose of anesthesia to relax the patient and to reduce the pain and discomfort caused by the condition. The surgeon makes a small incision in the abdominal wall and inserts a laparoscope to view the internal abdominal cavity and associated organs. A laparoscope is a thin long tube that has a camera attached to its end and enables the surgeon to view enlarged images of the cavity and the organs with a monitor attached. After investigation, the surgeon makes few more incisions to insert hernia repair tools and the bulged tissues are pushed back and placed in position. Later a mesh is placed in the femoral canal to prevent the possibility of reoccurrence of hernia in the canal. Later the incisions are closed and sutured. The surgery takes around 45 minutes to one hour to complete. After the surgery, meditations are administrated to reduce pain and discomfort from the surgery. The patient can leave the hospital in a day or two and are instructed not to do any heavy tasks like weight lifting. Diet rich in fiber content and adequate fluid intakes is instructed. The laparoscopic surgery has several advantages with a faster recovery time and minimal scars.

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