Cancer Articles (Dr. S.N White)

Postoperative Hernias This problem concerns a patient who has already been operated on. He notices a swelling in, about or through the operative incision. He observes that the lump becomes big and hard. Sometimes when he lies down or wakes up, the lump is less prominent or gone. Often it is difficult to push the contents back through the scar. What is this lump?   This is a hernia. That is, part of the abdominal contents have come out through a defect in the operative scar. What is in it?   This hernia usually contains part of the intestine and portions of the fatty abdominal apron (called the omentum). The gurgles and the movements you notice in the area are due to the moving contents and motion (peristalsis) of the intestine. But other organs can also be present, including the liver or stomach. Why did it happen?  The internal scar has a defect in it. There can be several reasons for this. Perhaps the edges of the incision were so far apart that they could n...