A Femoral hernia occurs very rarely but when it does occur, it is seen more often in women than in men and more often in adults than in children; if it does occur in children, it is usually in infants under the age of one.

There are 4 types of femoral hernias; reducible, irreducible, obstructed and strangulated; a reducible femoral hernia is when a femoral hernia can be put back in its rightful place in the abdomen whether it is left alone or by manually replacing it, resulting in little to no pain; on the other hand, an irreducible femoral hernia is when the femoral hernia cannot be put back to its original place and instead becomes stuck in the femoral canal, causing some degree of pain.

An obstructed femoral hernia is when a part of the intestine gets entangled with the hernia and neither the intestine nor the hernia can return to where it was, leading to a blocked intestine; this type of hernia can be very painful as the obstruction may start to grow and continue to grow, usually resulting in vomiting.

A strangulated femoral hernia refers to the obstruction of the blood supply to part of the intestine as a result of the femoral hernia; nausea, vomiting and abdominal pains are usually the resulting symptoms of a strangulated hernia which is a medical emergency requiring immediate surgery; if untreated it can result in blood vessel and tissue death (necrosis) or tissue decay (gangrene).

It is possible for a femoral hernia to occur on its own for no apparent reason but anything that puts extra pressure on your intestines increases your risk of a hernia including coughing, straining during urination or defecation, pregnancy or lifting heavy objects.

Symptoms of a femoral hernia are groin discomfort or pain – particularly when bending or lifting and a bulge or lump in the groin or upper thigh area. The size of the lump is usually different during the day than it is at night because of changes in the internal pressure being put on the intestines while you are up and about, as opposed to when you are relaxed or sleeping.

All hernias including femoral hernia usually require surgical intervention to be fixed but you can wait and watch to see if it is reducible hernia before opting for surgery. If surgery is required, laparoscopic surgery is usually the chosen method as it is minimally invasive and patients have little pain afterwards. The purpose of the surgery will be either to remove the hernia completely, or to push it back into the abdomen, as well as reinforcing the weakened wall with a piece of plastic mesh.