top of page
Writer's pictureSelvaraj Balasubramani

Inguinal Hernia/Groin Swellings My Audio Podcast-2nd Episode

Updated: Nov 6, 2023

Link to the Podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh..

Link to my website: WWW.surgicaleducator.com

Link to my YouTube channel: youtube.com/c/surgicaleducator


Embedded Podcast you can hear here itself






The Script for the Podcast:


Podcast- Script for Inguinal Hernia

Introduction: Hello and welcome to our Surgical Educator podcast. I am

your host/ master of ceremony for today’s episode. You can call me as

MC is the Master of the ceremony. We are going to discuss the surgical

problem of Groin swellings in the forthcoming weeks. Today in this episode

we are going to discuss the commonest cause for groin swellings-

the inguinal hernia. We will be discussing the definition, various causes

for groin swellings, applied anatomy, epidemiology, etiology, pathology,

clinical features, complications, treatment, and postoperative

complications associated with inguinal hernia. In the subsequent

episodes, we will discuss the other causes of the groin swellings. Our

expert Surgeon Prof Dr. Selvaraj is here to answer all our questions. So,

let us dive deep into the topic.

Q1. What is an inguinal hernia doctor?

Hi, MC good morning. An inguinal hernia is a protrusion of the whole or

part of a viscus through a weak point or defect in the cavity which

contains it. Hernia has four parts- mouth, neck, body, and fundus. The

inguinal canal is a passage through the lower abdominal wall that allows

structures such as blood vessels, nerves, and the spermatic cord in

males and the round ligament in females to pass from the abdomen to the

scrotum and labia respectively.

Q2. What are the different causes of groin swellings?

You must think of different structures or organs lying in the groin area. They

are lymph nodes, spermatic cord, round ligament, Femoral vein, femoral

artery, and femoral nerve. Think of pathologies in these structures.

The commonest cause is an Inguinal hernia. Other causes are Femoral

hernia, encysted hydrocele, lipoma of the cord, undescended testis,

saphena varix, femoral artery aneurysm, femoral nerve neuroma and

cold abscess.

Q3. What applied anatomy the students must know in Inguinal hernia?

Well, to be a successful surgeon, you must know the underlying

anatomy thoroughly. You must know the anatomy of the anterior surface of

the lower abdominal wall to do a successful open surgery for a hernia and

to do a successful laparoscopic surgery you must know the anatomy of

the posterior surface of the same area. Regarding the anterior surface, you

must know about the inguinal canal and its boundaries. The inguinal canal is

a 4cms passage between the deep inguinal ring which is a defect in

transversalis fascia and the superficial inguinal ring which is a defect in

external oblique fascia. The inguinal canal is anteriorly related to external

oblique aponeurosis and the origin of the internal oblique, posteriorly related to

transversalis fascia, superiorly by internal oblique muscle and conjoint

tendon and inferiorly related to inguinal ligament. Myopectineal orifice of

Fruchaud is a well-defined weak area in the anterior lower abdomen which

is divided into supra inguinal and infra inguinal part by inguinal ligament.

In suprainguinal part both direct and indirect inguinal hernias can occur

whereas in infra inguinal part femoral hernia results.

The posterior surface anatomy you should learn ideally with a diagram.

You must know about the various structures lying there like the various

muscles, blood vessels, nerves, and the orifices like an internal inguinal ring

and femoral ring. You should also know about the triangle of doom,

a triangle of pain, and circle of death. This is something like teaching about

elephants- however good I am going to explain about elephants verbally,

showing a picture of an elephant instead will have a great impact.

Because it’s an audio podcast, I can’t do that. So, I request my audience

to refer to a standard Surgical anatomy atlas to understand this anatomy

very well. Knowledge of the anatomy of the posterior surface of the lower

abdominal wall is important to master laparoscopic repair of groin

hernias.

Q4. What is the epidemiology of inguinal hernia?

Inguinal hernias are common and affect both men and women.

However, they are more common in men, with a lifetime risk of up to

27%. Inguinal hernias also tend to occur more frequently in the elderly. More

common on the right side and in premature babies.

Q5. What are the etiological factors of inguinal hernia?

1. General factors like aging, male gender, family history, obesity,

and smoking.

2. In pediatric patients persistence of processus vaginalis is the

cause for hernia.

3. Increase intra-abdominal pressure caused by Chronic cough,

constipation, dysuria, and heavy weight lifting resulting in indirect

inguinal hernia.

4. Direct inguinal hernia is common in the elderly due to weakness of

anterior abdominal wall muscles.- Malgagne’s bulging


5. Injury to iliohypogastric nerve due to surgery in RIF like

appendicectomy or open ureterolithotomy resulting in direct

inguinal hernia

Q6. What is the pathology of inguinal hernia?

Inguinal hernias occur when the abdominal contents, such as the

intestine or omentum, protrude through a weak point or defect in the

myopectineal orifice of Fruchaud or because of increased intra-

abdominal pressure. The protrusion can be either indirect, where the

hernia sac passes through the internal inguinal ring, travels down the

inguinal canal, and exits the abdominal wall through superficial inguinal

ring, or direct, where the hernia sac won’t pass through inguinal canal

but appears as a bulge in the groin area and comes out through

Hessebach’s triangle.


Q7. What are the clinical features of inguinal hernia?

1.The most common clinical feature of an inguinal hernia is a bulge or

swelling in the groin area that may or may not be associated with pain.

Other symptoms include a dragging sensation in the groin because of

the pull on mesentry, discomfort or pain during physical activity, and a

feeling of heaviness in the scrotum.

2.Expansile cough impulse in an uncomplicated hernia. If it becomes

complicated like irreducible,obstructed or strangulated hernia there won’t

be any cough impulse.

3.Swelling is partially or completely reducible.

4. Get above the swelling is not possible because indirect inguinal hernia

is an inguinoscrotal swelling.

5. Deep ring occlusion test positive in indirect inguinal hernia but

negative in direct inguinal hernia.

6. Zieman’s three finger’s test: Index finger-IIH, Middle finger- DIH, Ring

finger- Femoral hernia

Q8. What are the three types of indirect inguinal Hernia?

1. Bubonocele

2. Funicular

3. Complete scrotal


Q9. How will you differentiate indirect inguinal hernia from direct inguinal

hernia?


Q10. What are the complications of inguinal hernia?

1. Irreducible- internal ring is tight.

2. Obstructed- Lumen is obstructed. Can’t happen in omentocele only

in hollow viscera

3. Strangulated- blood supply is cut off , peritonitis, perforation. Can

happen in enterocele and omentocele

4. Incarceration- here internal ring is normal but irreducibilty is

because of adhesion between the content and sac of hernia or

solidified fecal matter

5. Reduction-en-mass- Because of forcible reduction the hernial sac


get invaginated without proper reduction.

Q11. What are the special types of hernias?

1. Dual/Pantaloon/Saddle Hernia: Both direct and indirect sacs +

2. Sliding Hernia: (Hernia-en-glissade) Retroperitoneal organ is part

of hernial sac.

3. Richter’s Hernia: only part of circumference of the small gut is

obstructed. Common in femoral hernia.

4. Maydl’s Hernia: “W” shaped hernia

5. Littre’s Hernia: Meckel’s diverticulum as content

6. Amyand’s Hernia: Appendix as content


Q12. What is the treatment for inguinal hernia?

1. The treatment for inguinal hernia is surgical repair, which can be

performed either through an open or laparoscopic approach. The

type of surgery depends on the patient's individual needs and the

surgeon's preference. The most common surgical technique is the

Litchtenstein’s tension-free mesh repair.

2. In pediatric inguinal hernia do just herniotomy that’s high ligation of

sac

3. In young adults ideally herniorrhaphy- that’s suturing together

patients own tissue to strengthen the posterior wall of inguinal

canal. Bassini’s, Shouldice, Maloney’s, Desarda are few examples.

There are numerous types of herniorrhaphys.

4. In elderly we do hernioplasty- that’s using synthetic material to

strengthen the posterior wall of inguinal canal. Litchtenstein’s

tension free mesh repair, Gilbert’s sutureless Prolene hernia

system, Stoppa’s preperitoneal mesh repair.

5. Laparoscopic/Robotic hernia repair- for recurrent and bilateral

inguinal hernias. If it’s primary unilateral hernia there is no

indication for Lap hernia repair. 2 types of Lap hernia repair- TAPP

& TEP


Q13. What are the postoperative complications associated with inguinal

hernia repair?

1.The commonest complication now in the mesh era is nerve

entrapment neuropathy. That’s when we are fixing the mesh to the

inguinal ligament or the conjoint tendon we shouldn’t include the

ilioinguinal nerve or genital branch of genitofemoral nerve in our ligature

otherwise nerve entrapment neuropathy happens which can be treated

symptomatically.

2. The commonest complication in the pre mesh era was recurrence

which has gone down considerably after the introduction of mesh repair.

3. Other complications are seroma/hematoma, SSI, urinary retention,

Testicular atrophy due to injury to testicular artery.

In most cases, these complications can be managed with medications

and close follow-up with the surgeon.


Q14: Thank you doctor for sharing your knowledge regarding the

theoretical aspect of the inguinal hernia. Can you share your experience

of some real inguinal hernia cases managed by you?

Thank you for the question MC! However knowledgeable you are

theoretically, you should apply that knowledge to treat a real patient

successfully. I will share 3 case scenarios of inguinal hernia to reinforce

the theoretical knowledge gained.

Case No 1: A 25-year-old builder suddenly develops a golf-ball-sized,

slightly tender lump in his right groin after lifting a 20-kg bag of sand. He

states that he felt a tearing sensation as it happened. He attends the

accident and emergency department.

Case No 2: A 7-month-old baby was brought to surgical outpatient clinic

with a inguino-scrotal lump. He has had the lump for the past 2 months,

but previously it appears only on crying. Over the last 2 days has

descended into scrotum and was unable to reduce. Baby started

vomiting for one day.

Case No 3: 73-year-old man has had a groin lump for some time which

he ignored. Over the last 3 days it has become progressively more

painful, with redness of the overlying skin. He has not opened his bowels

during this time and yesterday he started to vomit.

Q15.In Conclusion what you want to sum up regarding inguinal hernia?

In conclusion, I want to tell inguinal hernia is a common condition that

can cause significant discomfort and lead to serious complications. It is

important to seek medical attention if you experience any symptoms of

an inguinal hernia. Surgical repair is the most effective treatment for

inguinal hernia, and patients should discuss their options with their

surgeon to determine the best approach for their individual needs.

Q16. Before going to close this episode do you want to tell anything to

our audience doctor?

Yeah. Good. I told in the first episode itself and want to reinforce it once

again.

1. I request my audience to hear these podcasts ideally with a

headphone.

2. Don’t mechanically listen these podcasts instead visualize what I am

discussing as a real patient and see all the symptoms and signs in that


patient. In other words, you should not just hear the podcast but should

run a mental movie along what you are hearing regarding the patient

under discussion.

3. You can hear these podcasts while commuting or driving, walking,

jogging, cooking, or just before going to sleep. But don’t forget to use a

headphone.

4. Just allow my words and the mental movie you are visualizing to

permeate into your mind so that it will get imprinted in your subconscious

mind. Then the recall of the information needed is easier.

5. If you think these educational podcasts are very effective learning

tools kindly spread this message to your friends or students.

6. If you want to learn more, kindly follow me in my YouTube channel

and my dedicated website for surgical teaching. surgicaleducator.com is

my website and surgicaleducator YouTube channel you can find out in

the YouTube search engine.


Question Remark: Thank you doctor for your clear and impactful

answers. Bye---Bye

Answer Doctor: Thank you very much MC. I wish you all happy learning

and listen your way to mastery of surgery.

Bye---Bye. See you all in the next episode.




105 views0 comments

Комментарии


bottom of page