Pelvis > Sports Hernia > Treatments

   Abdominal Wall Repair

If you and your physician have decided on abdominal repair of your sports hernia, the decisions you make and the actions you take before your surgery can be every bit as important as the procedure itself in ensuring a healthy recovery.

   Any physical problems or changes in your overall health, such as a fever or infection, should be reported to your surgeon, and you should notify your surgeon of any new medications you are taking.

   Learn the potential risks and benefits of the surgery by asking your surgeon any questions that will help you better understand the procedure. It can also help to talk to someone else who has undergone the same surgery.

   Getting a second opinion from another qualified surgeon is often advisable, particularly in rare, unique, or serious cases.

At most medical centers, you will go to "patient admissions" to check in for your operation. There may be separate check-in areas for ambulatory outpatient (patients go home the same day after surgery) and for overnight inpatient surgery. Be sure to ask your doctor or an assistant about this. After you have checked in to the hospital, you will go to a holding area where the final preparations are made. The mandatory paperwork is completed, and your abdominal area may be shaved, though this is not always necessary. You will be asked to change into a hospital gown and, if applicable, remove your watch, glasses, dentures, and jewelry. You will have the opportunity to speak with your orthopedic surgeon or an assistant and meet the anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist (a nurse who has done graduate training to provide anesthesia under the supervision of an anesthesiologist). Then, you will walk or ride on a stretcher to the operating room. Most patients are not sedated until they go into the operating room. Here are some important steps to remember for the day of your surgery:

   You will probably be told not to eat or drink anything after midnight on the night before your surgery. This will reduce the risk of vomiting while you are under anesthesia.

   Since you will most likely be able to go home within a few hours of surgery, arrange for someone to drive you home when you are released.

   Take it easy. Keeping a good frame of mind can help ease any nerves or anxiety about undergoing surgery. Distractions such as reading, watching television, chatting with visitors, or talking on the telephone can also help.

Surgical repair of a sports hernia takes about an hour to perform. Though the procedure ordinarily requires an open incision, most patients can leave the hospital the same day. Any of three types of anesthesia – local, epidural, and general – may be used, depending on the patient’s physical condition and the physician’s preference. When used, a local anethesia is usually combined with a sedative to help you relax.

   Three or four tiny incisions, each from a quarter-inch to a half-inch in diameter, are made just above where the abdomen meets the thigh.

   Using a trocar (a narrow, tube-like instrument), the surgeon accesses the abdomen through the navel. A tiny telescope called a laparoscope is inserted through the tricar, allowing the surgeon to view the internal organs on a video monitor.

   Using three or four trocars, the surgeon reaches the defect in the abdominal wall and repairs it using a mesh patch, which is attached with staples to inside of the abdominal wall.

   The incisions are stitched up and you are taken to the recovery room.

Recovery Room

After your hernia is repaired, you will be transported to the recovery room where you will be closely observed for one to two hours while the immediate effects of anesthesia wear off. The area of the surgery will be bandaged. Some discharge is normal, but you should tell the doctor or a nurse if the discharge seems exessive. After surgery, you usually experience some pain. Adequate pain medications will be prescribed for you. You will be given intravenous (IV), oral, or intramuscular pain medications as needed. Your temperature, blood pressure, and heartbeat will be monitored by a nurse who, with the help of the doctor, will determine when you can prepare to go home. You will normally be able to leave the hospital or clinic within four to six hours after surgery. Make sure to have someone available to drive you home, as you will be unable to drive a car.

Physicians generally recommend that you take it easy for the first day following abdominal wall repair. Recovery is usually quick and patients are able to resume normal activities in only a few days. You should be able to walk and exercise lightly within a few days and be able to return to work as soon as you feel you are able. However, you should not do any heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for several weeks. You may need to use pain medication prescribed by your physician for one or two days after surgery. Pain usually decreases within a few days. It can be helpful to have someone around the house who can assist with any physical chores

A rehabilitation program including stretching and strengthening of the groin and lower abdomen is recommended. Ask your physician for information regarding these rehabilitation exercises

It has been suggested that sport-specific training, especially in the offseason, will help prevent this injury. Riding a bicycle and running are good for the heart, but they cannot duplicate the activity of a soccer-style kick, or a skate stride. Although extensive work in the weight room combined with aerobic training or cycling is very important, if there are certain motions or actions that are specific to a particular sport, then offseason training should include those activities. In recent years, physical therapists have developed something called ballistic training. For example, one exercise might involve squatting down and then jumping as fast and as high as possible. That kind of ballistic action works on some of the muscles needed to reduce the likelihood of sports hernia