Each clinical case deserves a personalised assessment. Every surgical technique offers advantages and disadvantages. The choice of the best technique is the result of a careful evaluation of the patient, the possible co-morbidities, the somatic conformation, the severity of the hernial pathology and many other factors. Once the clinical case has been evaluated as a whole, a conscious, informed and shared choice of technique between doctor and patient will be made.

That said, we underline that our team has a particular experience in minimally invasive methods. Currently in Italy there are not many centers that can boast our expertise, but in all major European and American countries these techniques are routine. It should be borne in mind that all minimally invasive techniques entail additional costs in terms of the materials used, surgical times and staff training. As a result, many public health systems are unable to financially support these modern techniques. The members of our team have been trained in the major European and Swiss centers.

Below is useful information seen from the perspective of the patient regarding convalescence and the recovery of full physical activity in the case of traditional surgery techniques or minimally invasive surgery.

Traditional Surgery Timeline

In traditional surgery during day surgery, the patient is operated in the early hours of the morning under local assisted anaesthesia and is discharged in the afternoon of the same day, in the evening he will be allowed to sleep in his/her bed and the analgesia of the local anaesthetics used during the surgery will still be active. It will be possible to take the first steps but every physical effort must be measured and reduced to the minimum necessary. From the second day until the seventh you can sit in an armchair and walk in your home avoiding stairs or any kind of physical effort, even moderate. During some physiological acts such as coughing or evacuation, the patient will have to moderate the thrust on the abdominal muscles. From the seventh day to the fourteenth, the pain of the surgical wound will have completely subsided and it will be possible to walk outside and climb stairs. From day fourteen onwards, post-operative healing will be almost complete and intermediate physical activities and possibly lifting of small loads will be possible. From the twentieth day onwards, the total stability will be achieved and the patient will be able to regain all his or her usual activities.

Traditional Timeline

Minimally invasive surgery timeline

In minimally invasive surgery, the surgery will be performed under general anaesthesia. Already a few hours after waking up you can sit in bed but not stand. The first night you stay in hospital. From the second day on, the progress is completely accelerated with respect to traditional techniques: the patient is discharged and it is possible to already walk inside or outside your home without lifting heavy loads. Common physiological activities such as coughing or evacuation will not be as problematic as traditional surgery. From the tenth day onwards, there will be a complete recovery and the patient will be able to resume all his common activities, including heavy physical effort.

Laparoscopy Timeline