To not have a hernia repaired because of the scarring?

[yankey]

I have been booked in to have my umbilical hernia repaired, however I have seen some people on the internet with some enormous scars and am thinking of not having it done. Has anyone had this done on NHS or otherwise please let me know what the reusult was like and the recovery time did they perform it by key hole? etc?. I am booked in for wednesday and am now panicking! Any experiences shared much appreicated.

why not ring them and ask about the procedure? You would be better off having it done as the long term implications could be worse than a scar.

yankey, if your hernia is at the point that it is requiring surgery, I'd go for it. If hernias are left, they have the potential to strangulate, which results in emergency surgery, a far bigger scar, and a longer recovery period.
Dont put your health at risk for the sake of vanity...

we all have scars of some sort, sometimes we need to think of them as badges of honour almost, signifying the battles we have won through life!

Good luck on wednesday, and after the op, get yourself some vitamin E oil/cream to massage the scar, to help it heal

YABU do it. Vanity is not a good reason to risk your life. Maybe that is worse case but it could happen. This is the bad side of the internet, you always see the worst of thing like that. If you had a ruptured appendix would you refuse the op because you might get a scar, I doubt it!

yabu. my gran had a hernia repair at 80 yo and the scar is so tiny that it is only visible if you know about it.
raise your concerns with the suregon.

Even if there was a scar, so what?? It isnt on your face.. it will be hidden.

I have spent my life with a 10" scar on my leg... if I didnt have the scar, I wouldnt be able to walk.

I'd suspect the enormous scars were from emergency treatment to hernias that were left untreated, strangulated, then became infected.

Keep off google and see if you can talk to the surgeon, find out how he/she intends to do the op and what results they expect.

can I ask why it wasn't operated on when you were a child?

Hi, Ive had an umbilical hernia repaired due to being in agony when bits of my gut were getting trapped in the muscle tear. Nice.!It got worse as I waited for NHS. I eventually went in for an emergency one. My scar is about 1 inch wide at my belly button. No problem and I got 6 weeks off work Result!!!!!
The longer you leave it the larger it gets and the larger the scar will be.

Why would you not have possibly life saving surgery because of a scar? Slightly ridiculous. Yes you can be nervous about surgery. Phone up the doctor and have a chat.
I have a massive scar across my stomach- my stomach is a wierd shape because of it. So what, without the scar I would have died.

I'll swap you for the 4" scar and massive tissue loss on my upper arm. I had melanoma surgery last month. Don't be vain, go and get it seen to and ask if the option of laparoscopic repair (keyhole) is available. Hope all goes well with your operation.

Thank you for all your comments. I am due to speak with the surgeon today. To be honest I am not in pain with mine it was initially a cosmetic concern however now I know the reason I dont want to put my health in danger either or leave it to get worse? I hope that the talk today goes well but if the surgeon says the scar will be more then an inch and not at belly button then I think I might rather save to have laparoscopic privately.

YABU. There are different types of hernias and ways to repair them. The vast majority is done key hole (laprascopic) only if there is a big problem will it be done openly.

Why would you not want a scar anyway? Unless you're a bikini/nude model