Inguinal Hernia Symptoms, Complications, and Treatment: What Every Man Should Know

You’re at your doctor’s office to find out what’s causing your abdominal pain. Your doctor tells you that you likely have an inguinal hernia. Now what? A specialist should treat this condition. At Turnquest Surgical Solutions, our board-certified bariatric surgeons, Dexter Turnquest, MD, and Victoria C. Chang, MD, provide expert treatment for both inguinal and hiatal hernias. 

What is an inguinal hernia? 

Inguinal hernias occur in the groin. Your groin is the area that connects your pelvis to your reproductive organs. Some of your soft tissue — usually the intestine — breaks through a weak area in a muscle and you see a bulge on your abdomen. 

Although inguinal hernias can develop in both men and women, men are much more at risk. One in four men will develop an inguinal hernia over their lifespan. 

Symptoms of an inguinal hernia

Common signs of an inguinal hernia include: 

• Pain in your groin 
• A bulge in your abdomen
• Pressure in the groin area
• Swelling in the scrotum if you’re a man 
• Constipation
• Nausea or vomiting 
• Little appetite 

Complications

You should seek treatment from a specialist for an inguinal hernia. As with many other medical conditions, it can cause serious, even life-threatening complications if left untreated. Such complications include:

Trapped tissue (incarceration) 

Your soft tissue becomes stuck in your abdominal wall and won’t return to its normal place without surgery. 

Tissue strangulation

Your soft tissue requires a constant blood supply delivering life-giving nutrients to keep it healthy. An inguinal hernia can cut off the blood supply when it becomes trapped, eventually causing tissue strangulation. If this occurs, you will require emergency surgery.  

Bowel obstruction 

An inguinal hernia can obstruct your intestine so you cannot have a bowel movement. Your bowel is obstructed, leading to pain as well as nausea and vomiting. 

Treatment for an inguinal hernia 

At Turnquest Surgical Solutions, we may recommend the following:

Watching and support 

Perhaps your inguinal hernia is small and only mildly symptomatic. The most conservative treatment option is watching and waiting to see if the inguinal hernia begins to cause more problems. 

We may recommend a truss, which is a belt that supports your groin and helps relieve minor symptoms. 

Surgery to repair your inguinal hernia 

If your inguinal hernia causes severe symptoms, surgery is required. We discuss the method of repair, explaining what happens during the procedure. 

In most cases, we can use laparoscopic surgery to repair your inguinal hernia. We use a few small incisions and repair the tissue with tiny instruments so we control damage to surrounding healthy tissue. 

In some cases, we insert a mesh material to help support the tissue and keep it in its proper place. 

For expert hernia treatment, call us at Turnquest Surgical Solutions or book an appointment through our online portal at one of our two convenient Houston, Texas, locations