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Maybe a Hernia?
Yes. Definitely can be a hernia. The area of your pain (to the side of the pubic bone, but not yet at the level of the hip bone), the type of pain you have (feel it in the labia, the leg, when coughing, with vomiting), noticing a slight bulge in the area… all are pretty classic for a hernia as noted in women. It is possible you may have a small one on the opposite side, too, based on your symptoms.
I do not recommend an MRI for all patients. It should be reserved for patients with prior hernia repairs and with those who have occult hernias (i.e., hernias that are not able to be found on examination but there is high clinical suspicion for them). In your situation, you are noting a slight bulge already. A dynamic hernia musculoskeletal ultrasound alone should be adequate, and if performed correctly should confirm the hernia diagnosis. In fact, if the examination is diagnostic of a hernia, no imaging is necessary. This is a very important point.
So, please seek consultation with a general surgeon who has interest and experience in hernias. A list may be found on the Americas Hernia Society webpage (www.americanherniasociety.org), by state, based on their membership with the AHS.Lastly, if you indeed do have a hernia, and you plan on having an operation such as the VBLOC, then it would be up to your surgeon to determine if he/she would like to perform both operations at the same time. In some situations, the surgeon may want to ask a second surgeon to perform the hernia repair, if he/she does not routinely perform laparoscopic inguinal hernia repairs. I personally do not believe there is a contraindication to performing both procedures at the same time. They are both “clean” operations. However, I would defer to the preference of your surgeon to determine the plan of care.