Postby JAZZToo » Wed Jan 03, 2007 9:10 pm
Hi - I had a large midline below the navel ventral hernia after a hysterectomy for endometrial cancer. Each year it got a little bigger till I looked quite pregnant. Anyway, 8 years later I decided to get it fixed and since I was past 50 I went for a baseline colonoscopy prior to the hernia repair. Big surprise - after I woke from the colonoscopy I was told that I had colon cancer and would need an operation. Never had any symptoms. So instead of a hernia repair I had half my colon removed. The hernia was repaired when closing after the surgery, but the mesh which is important to make sure the hernia doesn't re appear could not be used because of the chance of infection. A few months later it became apparent that I now had two hernias - an umbilical and along the midline incision line above it. I had to wait until after the chemo was finished and the following year I had it repaired. Mesh was used this time and it is now almost 3 years later and my long midline incision scar is holding together nicely with no recurrent hernias. As long as the intestines can be pushed back when lying down, he is unlikely to have strangulation. Strangulation usually occurs when there is a small hernia and a piece of intestine pokes out and can't be pushed back in. That is a medical emergency which requires surgery so that the trapped intestine doesn't die due to lack of blood circulation.