Epigastric hernia

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Epigastric hernia
Epigastric hernia.jpg
Abdominal ultrasound of a midline epigastric hernia.
Specialty General surgery

An epigastric hernia is a type of hernia that causes fat to push through a weakened area in the walls of the abdomen. It may develop in the epigastrium (upper, central part of the abdomen). Epigastric hernias are more common in adults and usually appear above the umbilical region of the abdomen. It is a common condition that is usually asymptomatic although sometimes their unusual clinical presentation can present a diagnostic dilemma for the clinician. Unlike the benign diastasis recti, epigastric hernia may trap fat and other tissues inside the opening of the hernia, causing pain and tissue damage. [1] It is usually present at birth and may appear and disappear only when the patient is doing an activity that creates abdominal pressure, pushing to have bowel movements, or crying.

Contents

Symptoms

Causes

Diagnosis

Computed tomography scans of the suspected areas with intravenous contrast can assist in diagnosis. [3] Doctors are also able to identify whether it is a suspected hernia by palpating the affected area. [4]

Ultrasonography is also used for diagnostic purposes.[ citation needed ]

Treatment

Symptomatic epigastric hernias are repaired with surgery. [1] Even if they are asymptomatic, they can be surgically corrected for cosmetic reasons. In general, cosmetic surgery on infants is delayed until the infant is older and better able to tolerate anesthesia. If the size of the hernia is greater than 4 cm, then a hernioplasty or herniorraphy surgery is required. [5]

Prognosis

Epigastric hernia becomes a problem when the hernia becomes incarcerated or loses blood supply to that area. This can be life-threatening.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hernia</span> Abnormal exit of tissues or organs from the cavity they usually reside in

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diastasis recti</span> Medical condition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inguinal hernia surgery</span> Medical procedure

Inguinal hernia surgery is an operation to repair a weakness in the abdominal wall that abnormally allows abdominal contents to slip into a narrow tube called the inguinal canal in the groin region.

Free-flap breast reconstruction is a type of autologous-tissue breast reconstruction applied after mastectomy for breast cancer, without the emplacement of a breast implant prosthesis. As a type of plastic surgery, the free-flap procedure for breast reconstruction employs tissues, harvested from another part of the woman's body, to create a vascularised flap, which is equipped with its own blood vessels. Breast-reconstruction mammoplasty can sometimes be realised with the application of a pedicled flap of tissue that has been harvested from the latissimus dorsi muscle, which is the broadest muscle of the back, to which the pedicle (“foot”) of the tissue flap remains attached until it successfully grafts to the recipient site, the mastectomy wound. Moreover, if the volume of breast-tissue excised was of relatively small mass, breast augmentation procedures, such as autologous-fat grafting, also can be applied to reconstruct the breast lost to mastectomy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Norton, Jeffrey A. (2003). Essential practice of surgery: basic science and clinical evidence . Berlin: Springer. pp.  350. ISBN   0-387-95510-0.
  2. "Epigastric hernia: Causes, repair, and recovery". Medical News Today. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  3. Toms, A. P.; Dixon, A. K.; Murphy, J. M.; Jamieson, N. V. (October 1999). "Illustrated review of new imaging techniques in the diagnosis of abdominal wall hernias". The British Journal of Surgery. 86 (10): 1243–1249. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2168.1999.01211.x . ISSN   0007-1323. PMID   10540124. S2CID   43879390.
  4. "Abdominal Wall Hernias | Michigan Medicine". www.uofmhealth.org. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  5. Sallam, Raouf Mahmoud; El-sayed, Ahmed Mohamed; Abdou, Abdou Mahmoud (2018-10-05). "Comparative Study between Drained and Drainless Sub-rectal Mesh Hernioplasty in Paraumbilical Hernia". Egyptian Journal of Hospital Medicine. 73 (4): 6417–6422. doi:10.21608/ejhm.2018.15103.