“Watchful Waiting” for Inguinal Hernias

The traditional teaching in surgery that an indication for inguinal hernia repair was its simple presence, especially if the patient was considered a good surgical candidate.

And, while most surgeons still adhere to this strategy there are now some data describing a “watchful waiting” approach. This is based on part on studies that show that pain limiting activities is not significantly different in the repair vs. non-repair groups and the risk of bowel incarceration is quite low.