Inguinal Hernia

An Inguinal Hernia occurs when abdominal contents protrude through a hole in the muscles of the groin at the top of your inner thigh.  The appendix can sometimes form part of a right sided hernia. Surgery The aim of the inguinal hernia repair is to close the hole to prevent the hernia.  During your inguinal repair the muscle layers are explored and the hole (the defect) is found. A small mesh plug (looks like a tiny, rolled up umbrella when it comes out of the box) is placed through the hole. This then opens up behind the muscles to seal the defect. The muscles are then repaired over the front […]



Femoral Hernia

When you have a Femoral Hernia, there is a space (called the femoral canal) next to the main blood vessels in the groin through which the abdominal contents, usually fatty tissue or sometimes even bowel or your bladder, can protrude. This is wider in women and so femoral hernias are more common in women. Surgery The aim of the femoral hernia operation is to close the hole / space to prevent the hernia.  During the operation, the surgeon uses a small mesh plug (this looks like a tiny, rolled up umbrella when it comes out of the box) which is placed into the femoral canal and the opening of the […]


What is a Hernia?

A hernia is a protrusion of a viscus (an organ) beyond its normal limits. It can be thought of as a hole in the muscles of the groin through which the abdominal contents can protrude. This is usually fatty tissue (the omentum) but it can be bowel and rarely even the bladder can be found in a hernia.  The protrusion produces a swelling. If the swelling clears on lying down, it is known as a reducible hernia, or if it fails to clear it is known as an irreducible hernia.  Hernias can either be painless, cause slight discomfort or be painful. They tend to get larger with time and can […]



What is Osteitis pubis?

Osteitis pubis is a term given to lower abdominal and / or pelvis pain that can occur in athletes.  ‌‌It is an inflammation which is usually caused due to stress or overuse of the soft tissue and bone around the pubic symphysis.  Typically, it causes pain towards the middle of the pelvis, at the front. This is also known as “pubic bone stress injury”. The pubic symphysis, is the joint that connects the right and left halves of the pelvis and also has several muscle groups like the lower abdominal muscles and the hip abductor muscles linked to this area. Symptoms Due to the inflammation caused, the most common symptom […]


What is Gilmore’s Groin?

Groin disruption (Gilmore’s Groin) is a severe musculo-tendinous injury of the groin, which can be successfully treated by the surgical restoration of normal anatomy. It is (nearly always) a sports related injury with a well-recognised set of symptoms and signs. The syndrome of Gilmore’s Groin goes under many names and has also become known amongst other things as sportsman’s groin, sportsman’s hernia, groin disruption, footballer’s groin, footballer’s hernia and athletic pubalgia, inguinal disruption and inguinal related groin pain amongst many others.  Symptoms In a third of people there is a specific injury that brings on the pain. This might have involved over stretching, excessive kicking or miskicking or perhaps the […]