How do you know if you have a hernia (plastic surgery-wise)

I'm seeing people post on here that at times they can get a portion of their PS paid for with insurance if you have a hernia...

It may seem like a silly question, but how do you know if you have a hernia? Its not the same as a hiatal hernia (which I had fixed at the same time as my RNY on 1/4/11)? What is this kind of hernia? And do you have to meet with a plastic surgeon to be diagnosed with said hernia? Or is it something I speak with my bariatric surgeon about first? (Retired, sniff)

Does that make sense? I tried to look it up under the search bar, but I couldn't really see my questioned answered...

I'm at 135lb lost, and hovering right about 135-138lbs so I'm now in reasearch mode

Thanks,

Alissa

 I haven't had one, but know people that have. If its very small you might not know, but usually people see a bulge. It's not a hatial hernia - that's internal. This is a hernia where your internal organs are kinda popping out of your abdominal cavity and pressing against the skin, if that makes sense. 

I think most people get this from being super morbidly obese (and having it all along) or from having an open incision (that kind of splits a bit and leaves an opening). 

I had a small hernia just below my LapBand port.  I guess, that is pretty common.  I had no idea until my plastic surgeon fixed it!  It never gave me any problems.  Many times you won't know if you have a hernia until your surgeon gets in there.

I'll write from experience but first off a hernia is a bulge sometimes noticeable by sight and or felt at and at times with pain.
I had Batiatric Surgery in 1993 back when it was only Open so I have a large scar up and down my abdomen. In 2007 after two other surgeries I developed a hernia on the incision (POVH -post operative ventral hernia) which was repaired with mesh. Since then I was revised from SRVG to RnY in 2008.
August 2011 I had pannilectomy with small hernia repair on my C-scar.
In February this year j started having pain in my left lower belly-I thought it ws connected to my bikini-line scar so I went to a surgeon in my HMO clinic who diagnosed me with inguinal hernia and advised I have colonoscopy (my first-did it during Passover and all is fine Thank GD).
I am now in dilemma to repair hernia now or wait. Why wait? I am scheduled for further Plastics in mid-May if I win my Appeal from my HMO and if possible iI would do hernia repair at same time as Mastopexy and scar revision.
I hope this clarifies for you. A surgeon and Eden GP/PCP I think can diagnose a hernia by palpating the abdomen or problematic area and if needed one is sent for US/CT.
Mikimi in israel

 I had opened RNY in 2006 and had an incisional hernia in 2008 which protruded through the muscle incision underneath the skin.  This hernia was caused by excess vomiting, coughing or lifting things and putting a strain on my incision.  I had another open surgery to repair it with mesh on the same scar area.  Insurance paid for it.  I am now schedule for a FDL TT and will have the initial hernia placed in a lower position and I have a second hernia that will be repaired at the same time.  I have two surgeons, one to operate on the hernia issue and is covered by my insurance and one to do my TT and MR that I am self paying.

My second hernia actually split through the muscle when I was throwing up about 4 weeks ago (bad KFC grilled chicken-too dry).  It felt like a fist coming through my stomach.  I panic and shove it back in.  I was ill the rest of the night.  Next morning, I went out and bought a binder.  I was out of town at the time.  I went the see my doctor later in the week and she could actually feel the hernia and sent me for a CT scan to confirm.  I now wear a binder to keep it pushed in at all times.  By late evening, I feel like an alien is trying to get out of my stomach.  When I lay down, it sinks back into the opening and relaxes.

I was actually at my ps for a revision to my bariatric scar.  I had open rny 2.5 years ago.  Recently plagued by a couple of hernias.  I say plagued only because they kept coming back.  I have had no symptoms or pain.  Last August I had a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy and when I was opened up the doc found a hernia which he repaired.  Just this past April, I met with another ps that specializes in abdominal wall work to have the bariatric scar revised.  As soon as I lifted my shirt - he said 'you have a very large hernia that we have to get repaired quickly'.  Two weeks later I was on the table being repaired with mesh.  He believes that the wall was never closed from the original surgery - I have had no vomiting or straining that would have caused this.  I could also feel the area under my skin was very soft and at times it seemed like I was pushing something in.  Now recovering from his repair which was covered by insurance.  His scar, although longer than my original scar, is beautiful.  It is a nice long thin line with none of the ropeiness of the bariatric scar.  If I had this to do over, I probably would have had laproscopic rny.