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Do you think you have a hernia?
What are hernias?
The hernias we address in this http://DoctorsExpressHartsdale.com Medical Minute are inguinal, or groin, hernias. More common in men than women, an inguinal hernia can occur when part of the small intestine protrudes through a weakness or tear in the area between your abdomen and your thigh- or your groin. It's possible for anyone to get an inguinal hernia, but it is more commonly found in males.
Hernias form a bulge and can be accompanied by pain. Men have an approximate 26% lifetime risk of having hernia at some point in their life, where as women have a much lower chance of one- only about 3% of women will experience a hernia at some point in their life. There are other types of hernias, such as abdominal, or "hiatal" hernias but groin hernias outnumber abdominal hernias by about 3 to 1.
What causes a hernia?
The cause of a hernia is not always known, but hernias are often the result of weak spots in the abdominal wall. Weaknesses can be due to congenital defects (present at birth) or formed later in life. Some risk factors for inguinal hernia include:
• fluid or pressure in the abdomen
• heavy lifting
• straining during urination or bowel movements
• obesity
• chronic cough
• pregnancy
Hernias often form in people with weakened abdominal muscles or in those who do a lot of heavy lifting or straining, which is why we see it quite often in young men. Physiology plays a part: men have testicles and scrotum which descend through the inguinal canal-much larger in men than in women. That is part of the reason men tend to be more susceptible to hernias than women.
Symptoms of hernia
Symptoms of inguinal hernia usually include a bulge in the groin area and pain, pressure, or aching at the bulge—especially when lifting, bending, or coughing. These symptoms usually subside during rest periods. Men may also experience swelling around the testicles.
Screening and Diagnosis of Hernias
If you are having abdominal pain or pelvic bulge and pain, you want to see physician, and he or she will do an exam. They will use their finger, to see if you have a bulge in your scrotum or on your groin and they'll see if its reducible or not. If the exam doesn't give them the answer, they can then perform an ultrasound, an inexpensive test that can tell you the same day whether a hernia is present.
What to do if you think you have a hernia
Most of the time hernias do not cause problems. People often live with hernias their entire life without them becoming aggravated or painful. When they do cause pain though, there is concern that complications may have arisen. Most common hernias are what we call reducible; you can take your finger or you can lie down in bed and due to the effects of gravity, the bulge in the groin will actually disappear, which means the intestinal contents actually go back into the abdominal cavity or to the correct location. If it's not reducible by lying down or using a finger or having a physician trying to reduce it, then there are concerns about complications such as strangulation, or incarceration occurring. If those concerns are there, then you need to see a surgeon, and there may be a need for surgery.
How to Treat a Hernia
As stated earlier, hernias can often be watched for years without being treated. If however, they are causing pain, we generally refer you to a surgeon who can do a very simple laparoscopic surgery.
If you suspect a hernia, but have not been diagnosed, you should see your doctor, and of course, we are happy to see you here at Doctors Express
This is a diabetic foot ulcer. The patient reportedly went on vacation and noticed this ulcer upon their return. Debridement (removal of damaged tissue) to the level of healthy bleeding tissue is medically necessary as damaged tissue acts an impediment to wound healing. Due to their diabetic neuropathy, they did not feel any pain or indication that a wound was forming. This ulcer appeared to have penetrated to the level of subcutaneous tissue or even fascia, but turned out to be much deeper than that. These are serious wounds and are the beginnings of what lead to foot and leg amputations if they are not treated promptly by your healthcare provider, AKA Podiatrist.
Sex reassignment surgery for male-to-female involves reshaping the male genitals into a form with the appearance of, and, as far as possible, the function of female genitalia. Prior to any surgeries, patients usually undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and, depending on the age at which HRT begins, facial hair removal. There are associated surgeries patients may elect to, including facial feminization surgery, breast augmentation, and various other procedures
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:04 Why do doctors perform laparoscopy?
2:11 How is laparoscopy performed?
3:22 Result
3:47 Risk of laparoscopy
Laparoscopy (from Ancient Greek λαπάρα (lapára) 'flank, side', and σκοπέω (skopéō) 'to see') is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.[1]
Laparoscopic surgery, also called minimally invasive procedure, bandaid surgery, or keyhole surgery, is a modern surgical technique. There are a number of advantages to the patient with laparoscopic surgery versus an exploratory laparotomy. These include reduced pain due to smaller incisions, reduced hemorrhaging, and shorter recovery time. The key element is the use of a laparoscope, a long fiber optic cable system that allows viewing of the affected area by snaking the cable from a more distant, but more easily accessible location.
Laparoscopic surgery includes operations within the abdominal or pelvic cavities, whereas keyhole surgery performed on the thoracic or chest cavity is called thoracoscopic surgery. Specific surgical instruments used in laparoscopic surgery include obstetrical forceps, scissors, probes, dissectors, hooks, and retractors. Laparoscopic and thoracoscopic surgery belong to the broader field of endoscopy. The first laparoscopic procedure was performed by German surgeon Georg Kelling in 1901. There are two types of laparoscope:[2]
A telescopic rod lens system, usually connected to a video camera (single-chip or three-chip)
A digital laparoscope where a miniature digital video camera is placed at the end of the laparoscope, eliminating the rod lens system
The mechanism mentioned in the second type is mainly used to improve the image quality of flexible endoscopes, replacing conventional fiberscopes. Nevertheless, laparoscopes are rigid endoscopes. Rigidity is required in clinical practice. The rod-lens-based laparoscopes dominate overwhelmingly in practice, due to their fine optical resolution (50 µm typically, dependent on the aperture size used in the objective lens), and the image quality can be better than that of the digital camera if necessary. The second type of laparoscope is very rare in the laparoscope market and in hospitals.[citation needed]
Also attached is a fiber optic cable system connected to a "cold" light source (halogen or xenon) to illuminate the operative field, which is inserted through a 5 mm or 10 mm cannula or trocar. The abdomen is usually insufflated with carbon dioxide gas. This elevates the abdominal wall above the internal organs to create a working and viewing space. CO2 is used because it is common to the human body and can be absorbed by tissue and removed by the respiratory system. It is also non-flammable, which is important because electrosurgical devices are commonly used in laparoscopic procedures.[3]
Procedures
Surgeons perform laparoscopic stomach surgery.
Patient position
During the laparoscopic procedure, the position of the patient is either in Trendelenburg position or in reverse Trendelenburg. These positions have an effect on cardiopulmonary function. In Trendelenburg's position, there is an increased preload due to an increase in the venous return from lower extremities. This position results in cephalic shifting of the viscera, which accentuates the pressure on the diaphragm. In the case of reverse Trendelenburg position, pulmonary function tends to improve as there is a caudal shifting of viscera, which improves tidal volume by a decrease in the pressure on the diaphragm. This position also decreases the preload on the heart and causes a decrease in the venous return leading to hypotension. The pooling of blood in the lower extremities increases the stasis and predisposes the patient to develop deep vein thrombosis (DVT).[4]
Gallbladder
Rather than a minimum 20 cm incision as in traditional (open) cholecystectomy, four incisions of 0.5–1.0 cm, or more recently, a single incision of 1.5–2.0 cm,[5] will be sufficient to perform a laparoscopic removal of a gallbladder. Since the gallbladder is similar to a small balloon that stores and releases bile, it can usually be removed from the abdomen by suctioning out the bile and then removing the deflated gallbladder through the 1 cm incision at the patient's navel. The length of postoperative stay in the hospital is minimal, and same-day discharges are possible in cases of early morning procedures.[citation needed]
Colon and kidney
Open heart (coronary artery bypass, or CABG) surgery is performed in order to reroute, or "bypass," blood around blocked arteries, thereby improving the supply of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Surgeons usually use an artery from the chest wall to construct the "detour" around the blocked part of the artery. Veins from the legs are also used.
Vatche, Minassian, MD, MPH, Chief of Urogynecology, and Sarah Cohen, MD, MPH, Director of the Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Fellowship Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, perform a laparoscopic burch colposuspension, a procedure used to correct stress urinary incontinence.
Stress urinary incontinence is one of the most common types of incontinence and is characterized by urinary leakage during physical activities including coughing, sneezing, exercising, lifting, and laughing. As the condition progresses, it can become severe enough to happen with simple acts such as bending and walking. This condition is due to an anatomic weakness of the bladder neck which typically maintains the seal of urine during activity. Stress incontinence can result from a variety of conditions including vaginal childbirth, aging, menopause and obesity. As this is an anatomic condition, primary treatment may involve pelvic floor exercises and/or minimally invasive surgery.
Learn more about treatment for stress urinary incontinence:
Division of Urogynecology: http://www.brighamandwomens.or....g/Departments_and_Se
Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery: http://www.brighamandwomens.or....g/Departments_and_Se