Hiatal Hernia Following a Car Accident

Hiatal Hernia Following a Car Accident

Most people know that feeling of driving down the road, seeing a car accident, and wondering if the people involved were injured. No matter how serious the accident is, traumatic injuries are always a risk. One of the types of injuries that can be seen is called a hernia. For those who do not know, a hernia occurs when there is a tear in the muscle wall, and an organ protrudes through it. Hernias are actually more common than many people realize. Some of the statistics that have been published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine have demonstrated that:

• Hernias occur in about 2 percent of Caucasian males.
• In the United States, about 1.5 percent of individuals will develop a hernia at some point in their lives.
• On a yearly basis, about 20 million hernia repairs are carried out globally.
• 700,000 of these repairs take place in the United States.

There are many different causes of hernias. However, one of the most common causes of hernias comes from auto accidents. One type of a hernia is called a hiatal hernia,

A Hiatal Hernia can occur in an Auto Accident

A hiatal hernia is a hernia that involves the chest, abdomen, and neck region. In a hiatal hernia, the stomach protrudes up from the abdomen and into the neck area. In the final position, the stomach will rest next to the esophagus. There are many different causes of this hernia. However, one of the most common reasons is trauma to this area. Typically, there is a muscular sheet that separates the esophagus from the stomach, but when trauma occurs in this area, such as in an auto accident, the traumatic injury to this region weakens this wall. This makes it easier for the stomach to protrude through the wall and rest near the stomach. Some of the symptoms of a hiatal hernia include:

• Heartburn or acid reflux
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Neck and abdominal pain
• Early satiety

Regardless of the cause of a hernia, it is important to be evaluated by a medical professional. In some cases, surgery could be necessary to repair it.

Treatment of a Hiatal Hernia

There are several different treatment options for a hiatal hernia. However, the treatment selected will depend on the severity. In serious cases, a surgical procedure called a Nissen Fundoplication may be necessary. In this procedure, the stomach is pulled back down through the hernia location near the esophagus. The muscular wall is then tightened and strengthened. Lastly, the stomach is wrapped around the lower esophagus to prevent it from sliding back up through the hernia location.

Image Attribution: The image seen above was found on Pixabay and is shown here with permission from the CC0 Creative Commons License.
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Hernias and Car Accidents

Hernias and Car Accidents

The abdomen contains numerous organs that play an essential role in the digestion of food. While hernias have numerous causes, they have the potential to develop in traumatic accidents. It is important to understand how these develop so that everyone knows the signs and symptoms to look for.

A hernia is a common problem and has been becoming more problematic as obesity and diabetes continue to persist in this country. A hernia is a protrusion of an organ through a muscular wall that typically contains it. When people gain weight, the musculature stretches, making it easier to tear. However, these can also happen in traumatic accidents, such as truck accidents. If someone is involved in an accident, they can suffer a sudden jerk in a certain direction, leading to a tear of the abdominal muscles. While this is a greater risk if someone is heavier, it can happen to anyone. At first, people may not notice this, however, a hernia can enlarge over time, making the symptoms more severe.

Signs and Symptoms of a Hernia

There are several symptoms of hernias that everyone should be aware of. One of the most prominent symptoms of an abdominal wall hernia is a mass protruding from the abdomen. This can happen in different locations depending on the location of the hernia. Another common symptom is pain on movement. This is due to the hernia sac resting on top of nerves and muscles of the abdominal wall. This pain often disappears at rest but will return with movement. This mass protruding from the wall may also grow with time. People may also find that they are able to push the mass back in. People may also feel nauseous if the mass in the abdominal wall becomes contracted, causing problems for the digestive process. Anyone with signs or symptoms of a hernia should seek medical attention.

Treatment: Surgery is Often Necessary

If someone sustains a serious injury to the abdomen leading to a hernia, surgery is typically necessary. The only question is how long they should wait before they have surgery to repair their injury. When someone sustains a hernia, it will continue to increase in size until it is repaired. If the hernia is able to be pushed back inside of the muscle wall that typically encloses it, the injury does not have the be repaired. However, someone needs to have it repaired before too long because it will only continue to cause pain and runs the risk of becoming irreducible. If the hernia is irreducible, it is not able to be pushed back inside. This means that surgery needs to be performed urgently before the blood flow is cut off to the contents of the hernia sac (the part protruding from the abdominal wall). If the blood flow is cut off, this constitutes a strangulation of the contents in the abdominal wall. This requires an emergent operation because without the blood flow, the contents of the hernia sac will undergo necrosis and start to die. This can lead to intense pain and could place someone in dire straits.

Assistance is Available

When people have sustained a traumatic injury to their abdomen and developed a hernia, they often require a trip to the operating room as quickly as possible. This is important to prevent small bowel incarceration and death from occurring as a result of the injury. When it comes to a traumatic auto accident involving surgery, there are many sources of stress for a family, including:

The Unknown: Families often worry because they don’t know what the outcome is going to be for their loved one resulting from a catastrophic personal injury. This fear of the unknown can create significant stress as families and friends try to cope with what is happening.

Financial Stress: Surgery is expensive and emergent surgery can be even more expensive. Some families could have high deductibles. Insurance companies may charge high rates of coinsurance, leaving families to pay a significant amount of the cost. Other people may not have insurance at all.

Loss of Property: Depending on the accident, people may have lost their car, their house, or other pieces of valuable property. If people have insurance on it, they may have the funds to replace it, however, what happens if the insurance company refuses to pay out the claim?
Families who are looking to reduce the stress of a traumatic accident should consider speaking with a legal professional.

Photo by Depositphotos.com
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