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You may be surprised to learn that a hernia can be of several types, although most of them occur in the abdominal region. One such type of hernia that is commonly seen in infants and adults, is an umbilical hernia.
An umbilical hernia is a medical condition in which part of the intestine or other tissues of the abdominal cavity protrudes out of the weak abdominal muscle around the navel or belly button.
Though not each case of umbilical hernia needs treatment, sometimes for infants and in a lot of instances for adults, surgical intervention may be necessary to repair an umbilical hernia and resolve its symptoms. One of the most popular surgical techniques for treatment in recent times is laparoscopic umbilical hernia repair.
Continue reading to discover more about umbilical hernia and laparoscopic umbilical hernia surgery.
As the name suggests, an umbilical hernia is an abnormal protrusion or bulge of intestinal or other abdominal cavity tissues through a weak spot in the abdominal muscle wall around the navel or belly button. The hernia is called so because the navel is also referred to as the umbilicus. For a hernia to be classified as an umbilical hernia, it has to be present within 3 cm of the navel or belly button. Umbilical hernias are very common in children and resolve by themselves in most cases by the time the child is two. They are also fairly common in adults.
The umbilical cord is a long, coiled, tube-like structure that connects the baby with the mother in the womb. It passes through a small opening in the baby's abdominal muscles during the gestation period (when the baby is inside the womb). This opening usually closes immediately after the birth of the child. However, if the midline muscles of the abdominal wall do not come together or completely seal in the baby’s body, an umbilical hernia can develop at birth or later in life.
In adults, an umbilical hernia may develop due to excess fluid in the abdominal cavity, a previous abdominal surgery, or chronic peritoneal dialysis (treatment for kidney failure). Risk factors such as being overweight or obese, being pregnant, and conditions such as chronic cough increase the chances of developing an umbilical hernia in adults.
An umbilical hernia looks like a swelling or bulge near the navel. If present in babies, the bulge may be visible only when they cry, cough, or strain. However, they are usually painless. In adults, an umbilical hernia may be associated with pain and abdominal discomfort. If the abdominal wall constricts around the hernia, it can cut off circulation to the bulge and cause severe pain.
Make sure that you consult a specialist immediately if the umbilical hernia becomes painful, swollen, discolored, is accompanied by vomiting, or does not decrease in size when lying down or under light pressure. The doctor will usually recommend surgery to treat the umbilical hernia.
The treatment of the umbilical hernia depends on the severity of the hernia. Umbilical hernia in infants and children is usually a painless, harmless condition that closes on its own by the time they are 2 years old.
However, surgical repair in children is recommended when the hernia:
The number of cases of umbilical hernia in adults is not that large. If the umbilical hernia is not causing any symptoms or pain, a wait-and-watch approach may be suggested. If the size of the lump increases and causes complications, surgery is the only recommended treatment option.
Surgical repair of the umbilical hernia may be carried out by the traditional open surgery technique or by the modern laparoscopic (keyhole incision) technique.
These are the set of measures that you can follow before a laparoscopic umbilical hernia repair:
Following are the steps which are followed during the Laparoscopic Umbilical Hernia Repair:
These are the following set of instructions that you can follow to achieve a smoother and faster recovery:
Laparoscopic Umbilical hernia repair has the following benefits as traditional hernia repair surgery:
The risks associated with laparoscopic umbilical hernia repair surgery are very low unless you have some serious medical conditions. The complications generally seen with laparoscopic umbilical hernia repair are as follows:
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