'swollen belly'

Umbilical hernia surgery is a small, quick operation to push the bulge back into place and to strengthen the abdominal wall. In most cases, the person receiving surgery will be able to go home on the same day. Surgery involves making an incision at the base of the belly button and pushing either the fatty lump or bowel back into the abdomen. In open surgery, our surgeon will open the site and repair the hernia by using mesh and stitching the muscle together. In laparoscopic surgery or keyhole, surgery, mesh and sutures will be passed through small incisions. Muscle layers are stitched over the weak area in the abdomen wall, fortifying it. Dissolvable stitches or special glue are used to close the wound. The surgeon will sometimes apply a pressure dressing on the hernia, which remains in place for 4 to 5 days. An umbilical hernia operation usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes.

Hemorrhoidectomy is surgery to remove hemorrhoids. You will be given general anesthesia or spinal anesthesia so that you will not feel pain. Incisions are made in the tissue around the hemorrhoid. The swollen vein inside the hemorrhoid is tied off to prevent bleeding, and the hemorrhoid is removed. The surgical area may be sewn closed or left open. Medicated gauze covers the wound. Surgery can be done with a knife (scalpel), a tool that uses electricity (cautery pencil), or a laser. There is a procedure that uses a circular stapling device to remove hemorrhoidal tissue and close the wound. No incision is made. In this procedure, the hemorrhoid is lifted and then "stapled" back into place in the anal canal. This surgery is called stapled hemorrhoidopexy. People who have stapled surgery may have less pain after surgery than people who have the traditional hemorrhoid surgery. But the stapled surgery is more expensive. And people who have stapled surgery are more likely to have hemorrhoids come back and need surgery again. Doppler-guided hemorrhoidectomy is a procedure that uses a scope with a special probe to locate the hemorrhoidal arteries so that less tissue is removed. Some studies show that it is less painful but more long term studies are needed to compare it with other procedures.

If you have an anal fissure that hasn’t healed with self-help measures and medical treatments, we may suggest you a procedure to treat it. An anal fissure is a small tear or ulcer (open sore) in your skin around the opening of your anus. There are several different types of procedures available, including injections with botulinum toxin, removal of the fissure (excision or fissurectomy) and sphincterotomy. We may suggest you have a procedure called a fissurectomy alongside Botox injections. This involves cutting away the damaged skin from around your anal fissure, along with any ‘sentinel’ skin tags (lumps of skin associated with the fissure).