46-Year-Old Man Looks Pregnant After A Year of Delayed Surgery Due to the Pandemic

Garry Urien, a 46-year-old resident from South Yorkshire, complained of extreme stomach pains last February 2021 to the extent that he was already screaming in agony. Due to that, he was immediately sent to A&E at Rotherham Hospital to seek medical attention. His wife claimed that it took 24 hours for her husband to have surgery that left him with a large hernia.

His current condition made him look like a nine-month pregnant woman, and he is still waiting for another surgery to fix his condition. Sadly, he is one of the patients that needed to wait long for surgery because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Large Hernia Caused Man to Look Like Nine Months Pregnant

When Garry first went to Rotherham Hospital, he was confirmed to have appendicitis. However, he was not operated on as soon as possible, which caused the eruption of his appendix and led him to suffer from a large hernia, making him look as though he is nine months pregnant, The Sun reported.

His wife, 57-year-old Julia, said that her husband was hospitalized in February 2021 when the UK was still in national lockdown and the NHS was under immense pressure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January 2022, NHS announced that waiting lists for surgery had reached an all-time high of six million, and it might go higher as experts estimate that it could take five years before the world is clear from COVID-19.

Garry's appendix was already removed, but his bowels continued to push through his abdominal wall causing his huge hernia. Julia told YorkshireLive that it has been 13 months since the operation already, but her husband is still waiting for his operation. Garry goes to the gym once a week to strengthen his heart and lungs when he finally has a schedule for his operation.

So how did his hernia get so big in only a year?

ALSO READ: Treatment and Surgery for Cancer Patients are Cutback as Result of the Coronavirus Outbreak

What is Hernia?

According to Cleveland Clinic, a hernia occurs when the internal organs or body parts protrude through a muscle wall tissue. Most hernia cases happen within the abdominal cavity and between the chest and hips. The following are the most common types of hernia:

• Inguinal hernia- It happens when the fatty tissue or part of the intestine pokes into the groin. In men, the inguinal canal is the passageway for the spermatic cord and blood vessels, while the inguinal canal in women contains the ligaments that support the womb. This hernia mainly affects men than women.
• Umbilical hernia- It occurs when fatty tissue or an intestine pushes through the abdominal walls. This is what happened to Garry's case.
• Femoral hernia- Fatty tissue protrudes into the groin at the top of the inner thigh.
• Hiatal hernia- It happens when a part of the stomach pushes up to the chest cavity through the diaphragm.

Treatment for Hernia

Treatment for hernia starts with consulting a healthcare provider who will advise for surgery or repairing the hernia. Patients are transferred to a general surgeon who commonly operates this condition. It is crucial to immediately seek professional help because a neglected hernia can grow larger and become very painful.

According to Cleveland Clinic, hernias do not get better by themselves, and surgery may be the only way to get rid of them. The surgeon usually tailors a method to best meet the needs of the patients in repairing the hernia. Some types of surgery include open surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and robotic hernia repair.

Check out more news and information on Medicine and Health in Science Times.