Hernia Q&A with Dr. Jeremy Simpler

Dr. Jeremy Simpler of South Mississippi Surgeons discusses hernias and the treatment options available to our patients, including robotic-assisted surgery.

What is a hernia?

“So a hernia is a defect in your abdominal wall and many people are born with them. As we age, as we get older and work throughout our lives these natural defects enlarge and your intra-abdominal contents can push through these defects and you get a painful bulge. A lot of times it is accompanied with pain especially when lifting or straining. Sometimes these occur after surgery and they could be problems that can oftentimes only be dealt with surgically.”

What are the symptoms of a hernia?

“The symptoms of a hernia are oftentimes pain, especially when lifting or straining, and oftentimes you feel a bulge, sometimes in your abdominal wall underneath your belly button or in your groin.”

What are the advanced hernia repair techniques you are utilizing with your patients?

“We offer advanced techniques with regard to how we can approach these hernias and we offer minimally invasive techniques. I specialize in using the da Vinci robot to help with these large and complicated hernias.”

Why is the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System such a benefit to you and our patients?

“The da Vinci robot allows us to tackle much more difficult and complicated hernias through small incisions that can be covered with a band-aid and gets people and patients back to their normal lives, back to work much faster. It allows us better visualization of the anatomy, which makes everything a lot safer for the patient.”