My 87-year-old mother has had an umbilical hernia for some 30 years. It started small but has slowly grown larger, and because it never bothered her (and she really doesn't like hospitals) she never had it fixed.

But yesterday, after suffering for a week with what she thought was a stomach flu, I took her to the hospital and they diagnosed an intestinal blockage, which they think was due to a length of bowel getting stuck in the the herniated area, thus stopping the "flow".

A general surgeon took a look at her belly, and using his fingers, gently but firmly put what was "out" back "in". And the flow seems to have been restored. If Mom is lucky, there won't have been any damage to the bowel itself (from blood flow being cut off). And so if she is lucky, the only surgery she will need is to have the hernia repaired - the surgery which should have been done a long time ago.

Procrastination does not always pay. Take care of yourselves!

You are indeed right about this!! My elderly aunt used to tell us "I'm taking my hernia to heaven with me" LOL
Actually she did!! But it can be a very dangerous thing.
Glad you posted this.
Hope your Mom is okay now, poor honey!! Is she getting it fixed???

That is a tough decision! I would get another opinion about that surgery. It is so much harder to recover comfortably from surgery at that age. It really depends a lot on the person and the urgency of it.

I will be praying for you and her.

I just had a surgical hernia repaired on Friday. My surgeon said if it goes in and out freely it isn't a problem. The problem is like with your mom, when it is left out and protruding too long.
The surgery is simple and quick, recovery time isn't painful...just a little uncomfortable :D:D:D

My dad almost died when I was just an infant due to an estranulated hernia. The doctors performed emergency surgery on him in the middle of the night and removed 18 inches of his intestines.

Yes, a hernia can indeed become life threatening if not taken care of.

Glad your Mom is doing okay now. Would rather see her have the hernia fixed than to risk not having it repaired and have worse consequences. Prayers for you and yours.

and while we are at it, PLEASE get a colonoscopy if you are of that age. My neighbor is very sick with colon cancer that has spread, she never had a colonoscopy.

You don't even have to be an older person either. A young man in his early 30's from our community passed away recently from colon cancer. If you have any symptoms that indicate problems, please don't ignore them! See a doctor, please!