The term "umbilical hernia" refers to a pathological condition in which there is a protrusion of the internal organs through an opening in the anterior abdominal wall. These can be: intestinal loops, stomach, omentum, liver, etc. According to statistics, women are susceptible to the occurrence of an umbilical hernia (photo below), but often the pathology is diagnosed in men. Treatment of the disease involves surgical intervention. If there are contraindications, conservative methods are used to stop the development of the pathological process.
Mechanism of development and features of the disease
In any person, the umbilical ring is the weakest and most vulnerable area. Normally, it is small. Under the influence of various adverse factors, an even greater weakening of the umbilical ring occurs, which can no longer hold the internal organs in a physiological position for them. ATas a result, they begin to move outward.
Umbilical hernia can be of 2 types:
- Innate. It is detected in young children shortly after birth. In most cases, the pathology disappears on its own without any intervention.
- Purchased. An umbilical hernia is most commonly diagnosed in adults over the age of 40. The disease develops in the course of life under the influence of various provoking factors.
If the contents move back into the abdominal cavity freely, it is customary to talk about a reducible hernia. Against the background of the development of the inflammatory process or with adhesions, infringement may occur. This form of the disease is the most dangerous. This is due to the fact that there is a compression of the organs in the hernial sac, which poses a threat not only to he alth, but also to the life of the patient.
Reasons
Disease never appears on its own. In adults, an umbilical hernia develops due to:
- Increased intra-abdominal pressure.
- Hereditary predisposition.
- Decreased muscle tone in the abdominal wall.
If one of the next of kin suffered from an umbilical hernia, the risk of pathology increases significantly. In this case, the person falls into the risk group. If there is a hereditary predisposition throughout life, it is necessary to avoid lifting heavy objects and control body weight.
Increased intra-abdominal pressure can occur for the following reasons:
- permanent cough;
- chronic constipation;
- high intensity exercise.
In addition, in women, an umbilical hernia may appear during the delivery process. Also, the disease is often first diagnosed during pregnancy. The risk of developing pathology is extremely high in women who have reached the age of 30 years. In this regard, during the bearing of a child, it is necessary to visit a surgeon for the timely detection of the disease.
One of the most important reasons for the development of an umbilical hernia is the weakening of the muscles of the abdominal wall. It occurs under the influence of the following provoking factors:
- overweight;
- high intensity of physical activity or, on the contrary, their complete absence;
- various abdominal injuries;
- abdominal surgery.
Most often pathology is diagnosed in women. In most cases, it develops during pregnancy or obesity.
Symptoms
At the initial stage of the development of the disease, formation occurs, which begins to protrude slightly when a person is in an upright position. With any tension (coughing, sneezing), it slightly increases in size. If you take a horizontal position, the navel will no longer rise relative to the abdomen. The contents of the hernial sac are soft to the touch and are easily reduced.
If left untreated at the initial stage, the disease progresses. Education gradually increases in size, it is especially noticeable during stress.
At this stage, the following symptoms of an umbilical hernia appear:
- pain when touched;
- intestinal cramps;
- nausea turning into vomiting;
- stool disorders (frequent episodes of diarrhea or constipation).
The development of the disease is accompanied by the formation of adhesions, due to which the contents are difficult or impossible to set into the abdominal cavity. The duration of this process is individual for each person. In some patients, the adhesive process may progress over several years, and therefore they do not notice a significant deterioration in well-being.
Sometimes the development of pathology stops. In some cases, on the contrary, it progresses very quickly. It is important to know that if you have the following symptoms of an umbilical hernia in adults, you should immediately call an ambulance team:
- an attack of acute pain that radiates to the lumbar region;
- darkening of the skin over the formation;
- local increase in body temperature;
- feeling of aching joints;
- there are signs of general intoxication of the body.
Such symptoms indicate an infringement.
Diagnosis
In both children and adults, an umbilical hernia is treated by a surgeon. When the first alarming symptoms occur, you should contact him. During the appointment, the doctor conducts the primarydiagnosis of the disease, including:
- Poll. The specialist needs to provide information regarding the existing symptoms, their severity and clarify the time of their occurrence. In addition, it is first necessary to find out if an umbilical hernia has ever been diagnosed in the next of kin.
- Inspection. The surgeon evaluates the condition of the skin, the size of the formation, its pain on palpation. In addition, he tries to push the hernia sac into the abdominal cavity in order to confirm or rule out the presence of adhesions.
Based on the results of the initial examination, the doctor issues a referral for examination. The following methods are used to confirm the diagnosis:
- Gastroscopy.
- X-ray.
- Ultrasound of the umbilical ring.
- Herniography (radiography in combination with the introduction of a contrast agent into the abdominal cavity).
After receiving the results of all studies, an individual treatment plan for umbilical hernia is drawn up.
Conservative therapies
Currently, the only way to get rid of pathology is through surgery. However, a number of patients are contraindicated in surgical treatment of umbilical hernia.
Surgery not available for:
- pregnancy (II and III trimester);
- serious diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- general serious condition;
- liver and kidney failure;
- exacerbation of pathologies of a chronic nature.
ExceptIn addition, a child with an umbilical hernia is not operated on if he has not reached the age of 5 years. This is due to the fact that in children the pathology can disappear on its own. To strengthen the muscles of the abdominal cavity, they can be prescribed a complex of exercise therapy, massage and physiotherapy.
In adults, it is impossible to remove an umbilical hernia without surgery. In the presence of relative contraindications (until they are eliminated), it is necessary to wear a special bandage and perform simple physical exercises. In addition, overweight individuals need to adjust their diet to eliminate the trigger.
To strengthen the muscles of the abdominal wall, you must regularly perform the following set of exercise therapy:
- Breathe deeply from the chest without using the stomach in the process.
- Slowly lean forward trying to grab your shins with your hands.
- Squat.
- Bend to the side, while spreading your arms.
- In a standing position, take your leg back, tilting your torso forward. Hands need to lean on the back of the chair.
- Take a prone position and bend your knees. Alternately deflect them to the right and left.
- In the same position, raise bent legs and rotate them.
- In a lying position, raise the pelvis. The legs should be bent at the knees.
After the elimination of contraindications, the patient is admitted to the hospital for surgical removal of the umbilical hernia.
Surgical treatment
The only effective method of getting rid of pathology is hernioplasty. This issurgical intervention, which can be carried out in several ways. The choice of technique is based on the results of the diagnosis and the individual characteristics of the patient's he alth.
Until recently, the main method of treatment was strain hernioplasty - an operation during which an umbilical hernia is removed as follows: the edges of the gate are pulled together, superimposed on each other and stitched together. Thus, only the patient's own tissues are involved in the process. The main disadvantage of the method is that every 7th patient has a rupture in the abdominal wall, since during the operation it is strongly stretched. For the same reason, a person feels pain during physical activity, and therefore the duration of the postoperative period increases. As a rule, it is 6 months.
Currently, the technique of non-stressed hernioplasty is widely used. Its essence is as follows: instead of the patient's own tissues, the surgeon uses mesh implants of artificial origin. Their main task is to strengthen the aponeurosis.
Advantages of this technique:
- lack of pronounced pain in the postoperative period;
- scar formation is faster;
- risk of recurrence is minimal - 1%;
- quality of life after surgery is higher (compared to strained hernioplasty.
The positive aspects of the technique are mostly due to the advantages of modern implants:
- Due to their high strength, they are able to withstand loads up to 5 tons.
- After the operation, the process of formation of connective tissue starts around them. After a while, the synthetic material cannot be distinguished from the body's own cells.
- Implants are tightly attached to the tissues, which eliminates the need for additional fixation.
- Synthetic material is immune to the vital activity of pathogenic microorganisms.
Methods of the operation are constantly being improved. Currently, doctors are increasingly giving preference to a minimally invasive method - laparoscopy. The method has the following advantages (compared to the above):
- during the operation there is minimal tissue damage;
- the shortest possible rehabilitation period;
- no pronounced scarring after surgery;
- The risk of recurrence and complications is minimal.
In addition, today in practice, combined methods of removing an umbilical hernia are successfully used. This allows you to reduce the degree of stress on the patient's body, as well as reduce the duration of rehabilitation.
Post-operative period
The first few days the patient must be in the hospital under the supervision of doctors. At the same time, getting out of bed is allowed for 2 days already. It is recommended to walk slowly in the open air every day, gradually increasing the duration of walks.
Afteroperation, an umbilical hernia may reappear. In order to prevent recurrence, it is necessary to wear a bandage daily (you need to put it on immediately after surgery). In addition, the use of this medical device facilitates and accelerates the healing of sutures.
The patient is discharged home after a few days in the absence of the following complications: relapse, severe pain, suppuration in the wound area, prolonged tissue numbness, bleeding, high body temperature, severe swelling of the affected area. For another 2 weeks, a person must take antibiotics to prevent the development of various infectious processes. In addition, the doctor indicates the day when the patient must come to the medical facility for removal of sutures.
The bandage must be worn for several months after the operation. Also, throughout the year, it is forbidden to play sports that involve high intensity physical activity and lift heavy objects.
Changing your diet is of particular importance. At first, you need to eat often, but in small portions (no more than 200 g). From the menu you need to exclude products that contribute to the occurrence of bloating and constipation. This is due to the fact that such food increases the intra-abdominal pressure.
On average, after removal of an umbilical hernia, a person returns to his usual routine within 3 weeks. But in order to avoid the development of a relapse, it is necessary to remember the restrictions for a few more months.
Folk methods
It is important to understand thatThe only way to get rid of an umbilical hernia is surgery. In adults, it is allowed to use non-traditional methods, but they are aimed at eliminating unpleasant symptoms and slowing down the progression of the pathological process if surgical intervention is not possible. In order to avoid worsening the course of the disease, the use of folk remedies must be agreed with the attending physician.
The most effective recipes for improving well-being in the presence of an umbilical hernia:
- Prepare 1 tbsp. l. dried propolis. Pour it with 200 ml of medical alcohol or vodka. Insist for a week, while shaking the container daily. After the specified time, take 2 tbsp. l. received funds and combine them with 2 tbsp. l. melted butter. From this mixture, make a compress on the affected area. It is important that the product does not get into the navel. After it is completely absorbed, wash the skin with cold water.
- Twice a day, gently rub sea buckthorn oil into the affected area. The tool helps to stop the progression of umbilical hernia.
- Chop the clover. Grass in the amount of 1 tbsp. l. pour 200 ml of boiling water. Insist for 1 hour. After this, strain the remedy. Consume it three times a day for 1/3 cup.
Traditional medicine recipes can also be used in the postoperative period to reduce the chance of recurrence.
Prevention
Perform measures to prevent the occurrence ofthe disease is necessary for people who have a genetic predisposition to the development of pathology, people at risk, as well as those who have already undergone an operation to remove an umbilical hernia.
To prevent the disease, you must follow the following rules:
- Be active, but avoid high-intensity workouts. Exercises that strengthen the muscles of the abdominal wall should be done regularly.
- Stay he althy. The main provoking factors are constipation and overweight. If you change the diet, the extra pounds will go away and the stool will normalize.
In addition, women during pregnancy also need to pay attention to the prevention of pathology. During the bearing of a child, it is necessary to wear special underwear or a bandage. Due to this, the tissues of the peritoneum do not experience excessive stress.
In closing
Umbilical hernia is a pathological process characterized by displacement and outward protrusion of the abdominal organs. According to statistics, women are most susceptible to the disease, but it is also diagnosed in men and young children. Currently, there is no single conservative method of dealing with umbilical hernia. It is possible to get rid of the pathology only by surgery. If there are contraindications to surgical intervention, the patient is prescribed procedures that stop the development of the disease: physiotherapy and physiotherapy exercises. In addition, it is necessary to wear a bandage regularly and adhere tocertain principles in nutrition.
