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Medical Author:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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If a person discovers a hernia or has symptoms that suggest he or she might have a hernia, the person should consult a doctor. Hernias, even those that ache, if they are not tender and easy to reduce (push back into the abdomen), are not surgical emergencies, but all hernias have the potential to become serious. Referral to a surgeon should generally be made so that a person can have surgery by choice (called elective surgery) and avoid the risk of emergency surgery should the hernia become irreducible or strangulated.

If you already have a hernia and it suddenly becomes painful, tender, and irreducible (cannot be pushed it back inside), you should go to the emergency department. Strangulation (cut off blood supply) of intestine within the hernia sac can lead to gangrenous (dead) bowel in as little as six hours.

Questions to Ask the Doctor

What type of hernia do I have?

What is the plan to take care of it?

Can I just wait and see if my hernia gets worse?

What should I do if suddenly my hernia feels painful and swollen or gets larger?

What type of surgical repair (laparoscopic repair or open repair) can I have?