Article by Georgios Stylianidis MD, General Surgery.
The hernia of the groin is divided to the inguinal hernia and to the femoral hernia.
The inguinal hernia is the most common diagnosis of General Surgery with an incidence of about 200 new cases per 100.000 citizens every year. The inguinal hernia is more common in men while the femoral hernia is more common in women.
The term hernia describes a defect in the musculature of the abdominal cavity which usually results in the protrusion of bowel or some kind of tissue through this opening.
In some cases the patient has no symptoms except some kind of discomfort which is usually related to specific movements.
The most usual symptom of a groin hernia is a lump caused by the protruded bowel at the place of the defect which causes pain of various degrees.
The pain is caused by the strangulation of the protruded tissue and varies from mild to moderate and sometimes can be severe.
In most cases the protruded tissue is spontaneously reduced in the abdominal cavity and the pain and the symptoms subside. In fewer cases the protruded bowel cannot be reduced spontaneously so the patient must be operated urgently in order to avoid the necrosis of the bowel with the subsequent perforation and the spread of bacterias in the abdominal cavity which can cause a very serious situation for the patient.
The most common factors that influence the severity of the symptoms of a groin hernia are the age of the patient, the size of the defect and the type of hernia. Small, femoral hernias in younger patients are usually very painful.
The treatment of a groin hernia is always operative. The new techniques are tension free as the defect is covered by a mesh and cause much less postoperative pain and shorter sick leave than the older techniques. The operation can also be done with local anaesthesia and the patient can leave the hospital at the same day.
The doctors of CrossBorderMedCare cover the whole spectrum of hernia surgery, offering tailor made techniques according to the type of the patient’s hernia.
CrossBorderMedCare is a medical care provider with facilities in Sweden and Greece. CrossBorderMedCare offers a wide spectrum of health care services that meet all the needs of an international patient ranging from urgent to planned medical and dental care. 
Athens BioClinic Hospital is a member of Bioiatriki Healthcare Group which is the largest private medical care provider in Greece. Bioiatriki Healthcare Group owns 26 fully automated primary care Diagnostic Centers and 2 hospitals in Athens and Thessaloniki serving more than 2 million people every year. 
