Surgery is the only way to repair a groin hernia. The Center for Abdominal Wall Reconstruction at Creighton University Medical Center specializes in advanced treatments for hernia repair, including surgery. Our surgeons employ some of the most advanced surgery techniques available and are world-leaders in hernia repair.

There are three types of hernia surgeries which might be recommended to a patient:

• Laparoscopy
• Tension-free repair (TFR)
• Tissue repair

Laparoscopy

Laparoscopy is now commonly recommended for different types of abdominal wall hernias. Laparoscopy is the examination of the contents of the abdominal cavity with a telescope passed through the abdominal wall. The development of small, sterilized video cameras that are attached to the laparoscope, allowing the image to be displayed on a video monitor, revolutionized general surgery. With this advance, complex operations that required an operative team could be performed with the entire team able to see the same image, as opposed to a single operator looking through the eyepiece of the scope. The advantages of this so-called minimally invasive surgery are obvious, and include less pain, shorter hospital stay, and earlier return to normal activities when compared with their traditional open counterparts.

Tension-free Repair

This operation begins with an incision similar to that used for the tissue repairs and the hernia sac is again either removed or placed back in the abdomen. Instead of closing the hole with sutures, a piece of material, usually a plastic mesh, approximately 6 by 4 inches, is used to bridge the hole. Since the hole is not actually closed, there are no sutures under tension. Thus the name tension-free repair. This is felt to account for the operation’s superiority over tissue repairs, as the recurrence rate (rate at which the hernia comes back over the lifetime of the patient) is 1% or less with experienced surgeons.

Tissue Repair

In this operation, a three to five inch incision is made in the groin area over the hernia and the hernia sac is identified and either removed or placed back in the abdomen. The patient’s own tissues are then sewn together to close the hole in the abdominal wall.

Learn More:

• The Center for Abdominal Wall Reconstruction and Hernia Repair
• Inguinal (Groin) Hernias
• Sports, Umbilical, Incisional and Epigastric Hernias
• Clinical Research
• Meet Dr. Fitzgibbons