We specialise in keyhole (laparoscopic) and open surgery; keyhole surgery uses smaller incisions (cuts) but is more difficult, involving several smaller cuts which allow the surgeon to use various special instruments to repair the hernia.
Between two and four small incisions are made through the abdominal wall through which the surgeon passes a thin telescope with a light on the end (called a laparoscope) and the instruments needed to carry out the procedure.
The laparoscope allows the surgeon to see the hernia and observe the surgery, which is done through the incisions using long thin instruments.
The hernia and/or hole are covered with mesh from within the abdomen and staples are used to fix the mesh to the muscle tissue.
For an open repair, a single cut is made over the hernia; the hernia is replaced within the abdomen (tummy) and repaired with a mesh. This technique is still the most common hernia repair technique in Britain.