OPERATION HERNIA factfile

NINETY per cent of the patients that Operation Hernia sees are men, who are usually the breadwinners.

Men are particularly susceptible because of gravity working on their anatomy. A hernia typically develops where part of the bowel extends through the gap in the abdominal wall where the genitals are suspended.

If not treated early, more and more of the internal organ can protrude and the hernia can grow to grotesque proportions.

In poor African countries, few hernias are treated due to lack of hospitals and surgeons.

If the man cannot work because of the pain and discomfort of the hernia, with not enough money coming in, the children cannot go to school and the family cannot be fed properly.

What in developed countries is a relatively minor medical problem swiftly cured through surgery can, in Africa, become a major health hazard resulting in death if the hernia is strangulated.

Operation Hernia's surgical missions transform lives by providing the medical care that is lacking in Africa.

The team going out to Ghana this autumn includes surgeons Professor Andrew Kingsnorth and Chris Oppong, registrar Richard Dalton (who is travelling to observe and learn), gastroenterologist Steve Lewis plus theatre nurses Dee Richards, Craig Brown and Alison Stout, all from Derriford Hospital. Professor Kingsnorth's wife, Jane, a GP, is also on the team as are medical staff from the Leighton Hospital, Crewe, and Raj Dhumale, a surgeon who is based at a unit at a GP practice in Probus, near Truro, which carries out hernia operations.