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Do hernias in the groin need to be operated on? A study find that the risks of leaving them be and not operating is small - and avoids the side effects of surgery. A hernia is the bulge of an organ through the tissue that's supposed to hold it in and the commonest hernia in men is in the groin where there's a canal heading to the testicles. It makes your eyes water just saying it. If the canal weakens, abdominal contents can head south. In some men this is uncomfortable and in some it's a chance finding by an intimate friend, or a doctor who likes looking at men's groins. Surgery aims to relieve symptoms and prevent hernias from getting stuck, which can be nasty. But is an operation really necessary if the hernia's asymptomatic? According to a four year follow-up of men randomised to surgery or to watchful waiting, the risk of not operating on non bothersome hernias was low - just under two men in a thousand per year, which means the longer you go the risk accumulates, but it is small. The complication rate of the operation though was one in five - some of them unpleasant. Something to think about when the doctor puts a finger in your scrotum and asks you to cough.
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