What types of hernias are there?
Your muscles don’t have many weak points, and so there are only a few places where hernias occur. Groin hernias are most common, and can be further classified into inguinal and femoral hernias. Incisional hernias are next-where a previous incision gets stretched out to the point where an organ can come through the muscle layer and cause a bulge under the skin. Less common (and more interesting to us surgeons) are “Spigelian” hernias that come out through a specific place in the lower abdomen, and lumbar hernias that come out in the lower back. Hiatal hernias are also-literally speaking-hernias. But they are treated differently and discussed in a different section. Treatment of hernias The standard treatment for most hernias is surgery. Surgeons have been calling this into question recently, however. For incisional hernias in particular, repair can sometimes be difficult, and it is always worth a careful consideration of the risks vs. benefits of the procedure. Even for one common type
