Inguinal Hernia: Pathophysiology and Genesis of the Disease

This book aims at filling a gap in relation tothe pathophysiology oftheinguinal region and the genesis ofgroin protrusions. While inguinal hernia is a widespread disease and hernia repair accounts forthemost frequently performed surgical procedure, these two aspects have been unsatisfactorily investigated, so that to date there is no shared hypothesis onhow visceral protrusion through inguinal barrier occur. Exact knowledge onthepathogenesis is fundamental foradequately managing a disease, otherwise all curative approaches would not be evidence-based, butmerely empirically identified and withuncertain outcomes carried out. Moreover, in absence ofpathogenetic certainty, formulating guidelines simply results in an unjustified methodology harbinger ofpolemics and controversies. Previous studies concerning thepathogenesis ofinguinal protrusions were mainly focused onthedetection ofbiochemical changes, mostly related tocollagen chains, metalloproteinase and similar elements. Nevertheless, despite decades ofresearches, a sure relationship between these ultrastructural modifications and visceral protrusion has not been proven. On thecontrary, over theyears very few investigations dealt withevidencing eventual modifications in thetissue structures oftheherniated groin. An extensive research finalized toascertain in patients and in cadavers structural changes ofthetissue elements composing thegroin was therefore carried out bytheauthor and his researchers team. The findings of these studies resulted tobe very useful fordefinitely evidencing theetiology ofinguinal hernia disease. Overall, theproposed book scrutinizes and widens all emerging aspects related topathogenesis, histology, physiology, surgical and functional anatomyoftheinguinal area affected byhernia protrusion. It intends tobe a reference guide tosurgeons willing tobetter understand thestructural modifications occurring in patients affected bythis disease withtheaim ofimproving treatment results.