Surgery to treat inguinal hernia, a health condition of the former president (PL), is one of the most performed in the world and has high success rates among patients, says Diego Adão, professor of surgery at Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo).
According to the former president’s defense, he needed to correct a bilateral inguinal hernia, in addition to complementary interventions.
Hernias in the groin region arise when, as we age, the tissues become fragile and the region, which is naturally weaker, is unable to hold the intestine inside the abdomen, and the organ begins to slide towards the inguinal canal region, towards the testicle, explains the general surgeon.
“In the region between the testicle and the inguinal region, the intestine begins to push against the abdominal wall and it forms a ball, a bulge, a fragility. It is a loss of resistance of the abdominal wall in the groin region”, he states.
In the case of , the problem occurred on both sides, thus configuring itself as a bilateral inguinal hernia.
The risk factors include family history, malnutrition and constipation. Like the former surgical president, the muscle may have become weaker, favoring the appearance of the hernia.
To correct the problem, there are two most common procedures: traditional surgery, called Lichtenstein surgery, and the video technique.
The first consists of identifying the area of greatest weakness in the abdominal wall and placing a polypropylene mesh on top of the muscle to repair it. The mesh stimulates an inflammatory process in the body, generating a scar that makes the region “harder”. In the second, done via video, the body also receives the screen, but from inside the abdomen, explains Adão. This is the most recommended, because recovery is faster.
However, in the case of the former president, this should not be the chosen course of action due to the fact that he has already experienced other problems in this region of the body, he states.
Surgeries are considered elective, that is, they are scheduled, when the patient is in an uncomplicated symptomatic phase, characterized by pain and aesthetic changes. In this case, the patient cannot do sports without feeling pain, for example.
When the phase is symptomatic and complicated, surgery is urgent and must be performed as soon as possible. This is the case when the intestine becomes trapped inside the hernia, and blood cannot reach it. “It’s the most serious case of all because you have to operate in the emergency room, remove a piece of the intestine. So, when the patient starts to have symptoms, we already plan the surgery to prevent it from reaching that point,” he says.
Although there is a risk of the hernia appearing again after the procedure, the doctor explains that the success rate is usually high, exceeding 90%. The chance of hernia recurrence is 2% to 5%.
A second complication that may arise, however, is one. “There are patients who don’t tolerate the mesh very well and experience pain there, either because the mesh is bothering them or because it moves too close to the nerve that innervates the groin area”, he adds.
Most patients return to normal life after the first month, including returning to physical and sexual activities.
Experts also recommended “phrenic nerve block” to treat .
Adão explains that this nerve causes the diaphragm to contract to allow breathing, coughing. When inflamed, it loses control and makes rapid contractions, generating hiccups.
With medication or surgery, it is possible to remove the nerve’s ability to stimulate the diaphragm, which would work as a treatment for the condition, says the doctor.
