During robotic hernia surgery, your surgeon uses small cuts instead of one large cut. This means fewer wound complications, less pain, and faster recovery.
Under general anesthesia, your doctor makes small incisions and inserts robotic instruments. The doctor controls the robot through a console that provides high-resolution 3D images. Contact Robotic Hernia Surgery now!
A hernia develops when a loop of the bowel pushes through the weak spot in your abdominal wall into your groin or scrotum. You might notice a bulge or swelling in your groin (hernia). This usually gets smaller when you relax. If it becomes too big to go back into your abdomen, you might need surgery. This is called hernia repair surgery.
This is a common procedure. Your doctor puts you under general anesthesia, which means you’ll be asleep during the operation. Before surgery, the anesthesiologist reviews your medical history and asks about any allergies to medications.
Your surgeon makes several small cuts in your belly. Then they insert a thin tube with a camera at the end, which lets them see your hernia. Your surgeon then repairs the hernia using mesh. This prevents it from forming again.
After your hernia is repaired, you might need to wear a belt or truss to help keep it in place during strenuous activities. Your doctor will also tell you how to take care of yourself at home.
Robotic hernia surgery is similar to laparoscopic hernia repair except the surgeon sits at a console in the operating room and uses robotic instruments to perform the procedure. This method may be more comfortable for some people, and it might be better suited to people who have had hernias recur after traditional surgery.
A recent study compared robotic-assisted TAPP hernia repair to open and laparoscopic hernia repair. It found that the surgery is safe and feasible when performed by an experienced surgeon. However, the authors suggest that there is a learning curve to successfully perform this procedure, and measures should be taken to ensure proper port positioning for optimal visualization and access.
During this type of hernia surgery, the hernia is pushed back into the abdomen through a small opening in your abdominal wall. It’s important to have this surgery because hernias can get worse over time. If they get bigger, a portion of your intestine could become trapped in the hernia and be pinched off from its blood supply. This can lead to pain and nausea, but it might also be life-threatening.
Umbilical Hernia
Umbilical hernias occur when fat or a loop of intestine pushes through muscle near the belly button. They are more common in infants, but can also happen in adults. They can be very painful. Without surgery, the fatty lump or part of the intestine can become stuck (incarcerated) and cut off from its blood supply. This is called strangulation and can cause nausea, vomiting, severe pain, and the area around the hernia may look blue or dark in color. If this happens, it’s important to call your doctor right away. Strangulation can lead to loss of life or limb if not treated immediately.
During hernia repair surgery, the surgeon makes a small cut at the belly button. The fatty lump or portion of the intestine is pushed back into the abdomen, and the weak muscle layers at the site where it came through are stitched together. In some cases, especially in older children or adults, a special mesh patch is placed to strengthen the abdominal wall instead of using sutures.
Most umbilical hernia repairs are done on an outpatient basis, which means you or your child will go home after a short stay in the hospital. The surgeon or anesthesia doctor will review your child’s medical history to determine the best type and amount of anesthesia. Make sure to tell your doctor about any allergies or other health problems.
In most cases, robotic hernia surgery for both femoral and umbilical hernias is done through a minimally invasive technique that uses trocars or tubes inside the abdomen to work up close to the muscles of the abdominal wall. This allows direct visualization of the muscle layers and a stronger repair than is possible with laparoscopic techniques alone.
However, for very large hernias, or in cases of recurrence after an umbilical hernia repair, robotic methods do not offer enough scope to access and fix the hernia adequately. In these cases, an open technique is needed. This can be done through a tiny cut in the belly button, and can also be performed under local anesthesia for children.
Ventral Hernia
A ventral hernia occurs when a weak spot in your abdominal wall allows abdominal tissue or an organ, like the intestines, to protrude through that area of the muscle. The hernia is visible as a bulge and may appear near the navel (belly button), site of a previous abdominal surgery (an incisional hernia) or the groin (an inguinal hernia).
The good news is that hernias of any size can be repaired using minimally invasive surgery, also known as laparoscopic surgery, which involves making several small incisions on your abdomen. Many hernias can be fixed by removing the herniated tissue, repairing the defect or hole in the muscles, and sewing the area closed with mesh, a strong, flexible synthetic material that helps strengthen the weakened muscle.
Larger hernias often require muscular releases or component separations, which bring the muscles of your abdominal wall closer together. Centers that are skilled at robotic component separation can use 4-6 smaller incisions on the abdomen, which allows for faster recovery and lower rates of complications.
If left untreated, a ventral hernia can grow into an incarcerated hernia that becomes stuck in the weakened abdominal wall. This hernia can cause pain, nausea or vomiting and may cut off the blood supply to the intestines, which is called strangulation. If this happens, you must seek emergency surgery immediately to prevent permanent damage and potentially life-threatening illness or death.
When hernias are repaired with mesh, the recurrence rate is significantly lower than it is in patients who do not undergo hernia repair with the same technique. However, even with the introduction of mesh, hernias can recur, so regular checkups are important to detect and treat a new hernia as it develops.
After hernia repair, you will be able to return to most of your normal activities as soon as you are medically stable. It is important to avoid heavy lifting or straining to reduce your risk of a new hernia developing. If you do experience a hernia recurrence, we can help you determine whether another procedure is right for you.
Hiatal Hernia
When the opening (hiatus) in the muscle between the abdomen and chest (diaphragm) is too large, part of your stomach slips up into your chest cavity (hiatal hernia). Large hiatal hernias can cause heartburn (gastro-esophageal reflux disease; GERD), difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) and regurgitation (spitting up undigested food) as stomach acid backflows into your throat. Symptoms may also include chest pain, bloating and feeling full early after eating (abdominal distention).
Hiatal hernia surgery involves:
- Closing the hole in the diaphragm.
- Tightening the junction between your stomach and esophagus.
- Repairing any tissue that has slipped up through the hiatus.
Some surgeons use a technique called fundoplication, in which your doctor wraps the upper portion of your stomach around your esophagus to reinforce the junction and prevent future herniations.
Robotic surgery allows doctors to perform hernia repair procedures with smaller incisions and less scarring than traditional methods. These techniques allow patients to heal more quickly and with less pain.
In robotic hernia surgery, your doctor will make a few small incisions in your abdomen and then put a thin, lighted scope (scope tube) through one of them. They will use this to see your organs and the hernia. Then they will put a tool through another incision to fix the hernia. They might put a mesh patch on your abdominal wall to hold it shut or they might use a non-tension method, where they simply reinforce the area with a piece of flexible mesh that sticks to your inner abdominal wall and encourages new tissue to grow over it.
Non-tension hernia repair has a lower risk of recurrence than tension hernia repair. However, you should talk to your surgeon about which type of hernia repair they prefer to do and why. They might have a preference based on their experience and the results of previous research.