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Hernia Surgery Risks in an 88yr old Woman
A femoral hernia can be repaired under local anesthesia with some sedation. It is worth repairing especially in a symptomatic patient. The risk of not repairing such a hernia is very high in terms of complications and includes death. â…“ of patients who end up requiring surgery for femoral hernia need it done emergently and among those â…“, 10% do not survive due to complications from bowel strangulation, infection, etc. That is a very very high number. It is best to repair the femoral hernia non-emergently, that is, under controlled elective manner. The assumption is that the patient is healthy enough to undergo repair with less risk for surgery.
I do not recommend laparoscopy for most patients who are 88 years old, even if it is theoretically a superior repair than the open repair especially for femoral hernias. It is not worth the risks of the repair, such as need for general anesthesia.