Can You Prevent a Hernia Reoccurring?

Below are the risk factors that cause hernias: 

Smoking: Smoking weakens connective tissue that provides strength

Being overweight: Having a BMI of greater than 25 increases the risk of hernias occurring. The lower abdomen provides support to the abdominal contents. The more fatty tissue there is in the abdomen, the more support is needed, so hernias are more common in obese patients.

Increased age and frailty: Natural wear and tear can make these canals/natural anatomical weaknesses bigger, so hernias are more likely to occur. This occurs naturally with age.

Poorly controlled diabetes

Chronic lung diseas such as asthma and COPD: Poorly controlled respiratory disease can cause abdominal muscles to tire more quickly and can exert increased pressure on the weak areas of the abdominal wall.

Certain medications such as steroids and immunotherapy: Steroids reduce the amount of collagen we replace as our tissues are recycled.

These risk factors increase the risk of failure of a hernia repair, causing hernia recurrence, especially umbilical hernias that occur around the belly button.

While some risks which cause hernias to occur or reoccur can be removed, others cannot.

For example, ageing or medicine prescriptions and dosing. Moving to alternate medications and lowering the dose is the best you can do. You cannot stop yourself from aging, but maintaining strength through exercise classes and training will reduce the rate of connective tissue deterioration. Some risks can only be modified, such as better-controlled respiratory disease or diabetes.

You can only repair each hernias 2-3 times. It is important to give each attempt the best chance of success. At Hernia Clinic Hampshire this philosophy is key to the advice we offer and the reason we give this advice.