A few key factors can delay or prevent someone from having a hernia repaired, and they fall into three main areas: medical safety, logistics, and surgical decision-making.
Surgeons aim to minimise the risk of complications, so they may delay hernia surgery if certain conditions are not well controlled. High blood pressure, poorly controlled diabetes or ongoing investigations into other medical problems need completing or optimising first.
You might ask, can you have hernia surgery if you are overweight? Or can you have hernia surgery if you smoke? Significant obesity and active smoking increase the risk of wound infections, slow healing, anaesthetic complications and cause the hernia to comeback soon after repair, so these need to be resolved beforehand.
People taking blood thinning medication — such as warfarin, apixaban, or clopidogrel — often require a carefully planned pause or bridging treatment, which can delay scheduling. If they were started in the past 6 months, then waiting 6-12 months to pause or bridge them is another cause for delay.
Any active infection in the body, even dental or urinary, can cause surgery to be postponed until resolved. More serious issues, such as unstable heart or breathing difficulties, may require specialist assessment before surgery proceeds.
Private patients may experience hernia surgery delays due to insurance authorisation, incorrect procedure codes, or pending excess payments. On both NHS and private pathways, incomplete pre‑operative assessments — such as missing blood tests, ECGs, or anaesthetist reviews — can halt progress until tests are completed. Surgeon availability and theatre capacity may also affect timing.
If a hernia is small, painless, or not interfering with daily activity, a “watchful waiting” approach may be recommended. At the other end of the spectrum, very large or complex abdominal wall hernias may require specialist centres or preparatory steps such as smoking cessation or weight loss before surgery is needed.
Importantly, most factors that delay surgery are temporary and manageable, and very few issues permanently prevent someone from having their hernia repaired.
At Hernia Clinic Hampshire, we work hard to make the surgery booking process as straightforward as possible and to help you get back to life as quick as possible. Our Consultant surgeon will help you understand your situation, options and next steps. Where a hernia repair is the next step, we aim to offer surgery 1-3 weeks from your initial appointment.
