Nikki Sommer, a nurse with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning for Medical Matters.
Hernias are the topic for today’s Medical Matters and there are different types.
Sommer said, “Considering that, Doctor Smith is a general surgeon, this is her area of expertise. So I thought we’ll break down all the different hernias. Since last week we talked about hiatal hernia, this week we could talk about the belly button hernia, also known as the umbilical hernia. That is when tissue pushes from inside your belly button and through a weak spot into your abdominal muscles. So a lot of times you’ll have your belly button look like, people say, do you have an innie or an outie? But as you get older, if you’re born with an innie and then it becomes an outie, it usually means it’s a hernia.”
Who gets umbilical hernias?
Sommer said, “Children and adults can get umbilical hernias. So every once in a while, you’ll see, like a child, and as they’re growing their belly button will pop out, or they’ll have a small umbilical hernia.”
Obesity, multiple pregnancies, lifting heavy objects or even a chronic cough can be causes.
Sommer said, “It’s a small budge around the belly button that can come and sometimes it’ll pop out and you can push it back in. You will see it more often when you cough, stand up or strain. Sometimes it’s painless, but it can become uncomfortable. A lot of times you’ll feel like something pops, but it’s not painful. Then over time, as it weakens, the bulge become can become more painful. So you need to be aware that if this is occurring and then it becomes more painful, larger, red, hard to push in or doesn’t go back in when you lay down, these are signs that something more serious is happening, and that could mean that there is tissue trapped. That’s when it becomes an emergency.”
If you have nausea or vomiting or the lump changes color, especially to red, purple or dark, you should get attention pretty quickly.
Sommer said, “You either need to call your doctor or go to the ER, because sometimes the bowel, when you have a weakened wall in the muscle, the bowel can protrude through, push through, and that’s the bulge and tissue, like I said, can get trapped and cut circulation to your bowel, and it means it’s losing blood flow. So that becomes an emergency, so you need to take care of that right away. It’s not that common, but it can happen, and we’ve seen it happen. It occurs when people have hernias and they don’t want to go for surgery, and we talk about putting off your surgery when you shouldn’t, and then it becomes, these are one of the things that can become an emergency.”
How is a hernia diagnosed?
Sommer said, “Usually, you can feel it. You can feel the defect in the abdominal wall. In some cases, not so much. I think, with the umbilical hernia, very, very few, it’s more of like an inguinal hernia. Sometimes this concern whether it’s a lymph node or not. They can do an ultrasound, but for the most part, they can feel it and patients know it. They know what it is, because the belly button was never an outie, and now all of a sudden, went from being an innie to an outie. So that doesn’t usually happen.”
What are the treatment options?
Sommer said, “Surgery is really your only option, especially if they get larger, become more painful and they’re becoming problem. Some the surgeons will usually push the bulge back in and close the weak spot in the muscle. Sometimes, depending on the size, or if this is reoccurring, they will use mesh. The mesh is used to strengthen the area and reduce the chance of it coming back. So sometimes, if it’s kind of small, they can push it in and just repair the muscle. However, like we talked about, body mechanics, can be a big thing. So a lot of time people who have recurring hernias, it’s because it’s something that they’re doing in their daily living that’s exacerbating that condition. So heavy lifting, whether they have a job, where there’s heavy lifting and they say improper body mechanics when you lift, however, sometimes it can occur, even with the proper body mechanics, just because you have weakened abdominal wall muscles. So the goal is to have it repaired and try not to have it reoccur. But if it does, then sometimes they have to use the mesh.”
For more information on how Key West Surgical Group can help, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/