Flying with a hernia

[ladywithtime]

My husband has a hernia next to his left groin.  He has to keep pushing it back in. Here is our delima... we are going to Rome Italy in 5 weeks and a friend of ours told us that flying in a pressurized cabin may have negative effects on his hernia.  What are the consequences of flying at high altitudes in a pressurized cabin?
Any input would be appreciated...thank you.

[sylviegirl]

hi im 28years old women,i have been diagnosed with hernia,whitch is painfull sometimes not always.I have a holiday booked in the next 7days i havent got time to have an operation ,but i really would like to go for my holiday withch would mean i have to fly for 5hours. would it be life fretening to fly?is there anything i can do to make the flight safer???i would appreciate any answer!!!

[ladywithtime]

OOPPPSS   Insurance does not take effect untill Octiber 1, 2012.

[ladywithtime]

Insurance dies not take effect untill Octiber 1, 2012.

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

Why the delay in repairing it? It's not like it is going to go away. He could be fully recovered from a laparoscopic hernia repair in five weeks rather than you worrying about a piece of intestine getting incarcerating in the hernia half way to Europe. Commercial airplanes are pressurized but only to about 10,000 feet. The gas that we all have in our intestines will expand in the lower pressure environment. This increases the pressure in the abdominal cavity and increases the challenge of reducing the hernia.