Does anyone know if a hernia can cause infertility in a man? My OH had a hernia in his groin when he was 18/19 and it was surgically repaired.

I don't know Bonfloss, but hernia's are quite common and I've never heard anyone say that they can have fertility side-effects. maybe some of the other girls can confirm xx

My dad had a hernia in his groin in his teens also.

I hope that answers your question =)

My husband has a hernia (not bad enough to require surgery), it doesn't seem to have affected his fertility.

Yes, hernia repair can affect fertility. My husband has now had a hernia repair to both sides and has been left infertile as a result. Unfortunately, he was not made aware of the risk. If your OH only had one side operated on then he should still be ok to conceive.
Hope this helps.

Thanks Heidi77. It was only one side for my OH. I did ask the doctor when I was there last week and he said that it shouldn't be a problem but you start to think of everything.

You're welcome Bonfloss, I know what you mean, it's the last thing we would have thought of. I am sure most hernia ops are fine.

Heidi77 - when did you found out about your hubby? How long had you been trying and was it picked up at the doctors?? Sorry for all the questions. We are going into month 10 and starting to get concerned..

Don't worry, you can ask me as many questions as you like! I'm going to waffle now but hopefully it will give you a better understanding.

We had been trying since August 2004 but didn't really take much notice until mid 2005 when we thought something may be wrong. I think we kind of put it to the back of our minds until Feb 2006 when my hubby eventually went to the Doctors. I wouldn't recommend leaving it for that long but as I said, I don't think we wanted to accept there was a problem.

The Doctor advised that my hubby had a nil sperm count and that we should consider adoption or donor. We were obviously really upset about this and wanted to know why there was a nil sperm count. It seemed really strange that there was nothing at all. Therefore, the Doctor agreed to refer us to a specialist who had to carry out an exploratory operation and found that hubbys vas deferens were blocked on both sides.

To cut a long story short, both sides were investigated and both sides were blocked. The cause is debatable, the surgeon who carried out the hernia states that my hubby scars more than normal whereas the surgeon that carried out the exploratory operations advises the vas deferens (that carry the sperm) have been wrapped round the hernia plug. We will never get a straight answer as it is going through legal proceedings and they all stick together. However, there is no doubt by either surgeon that the blockages are caused by the hernia operations.

One side was repaired but has since blocked again and the other side, the blockage was too close to the femoral artery and is therefore too dangerous to operate on. When the surgeon was carrying out the exploratory operation he did manage to get some sperm directly from the testes. Even though these aren't mature, we have had ICSI treatment and they have successfully fertlised some eggs.

Thats why I think that if your OH has only had one side done, there is no reason why he can't conceive with the other side, apparently this does not make much difference at all. To put your minds at rest it may be worthwhile just going to the Doctors and letting them know you have been trying. They can make sure you have been trying at the right time of the month and everything. Have you tried ovulation kits?

I am sure that this is not the case in your situation and I wish you all the best. Please feel free to ask me as many questions as you need to as I know from looking myself that information can be somewhat limited.

All the best!

Thanks Heidi77. I have tonsillitis so have been laid up in bed for the last few days so no BD'ing for us !!! I have been to the docs, had bloods to check I am ovulating and I also get quite bad ovulation pain. I have used opks which always give a strong positive. I was at Gynae 2 years ago (unrelated) and had an ultrasound scan and everything was normal.

The doctor doesn't seem concerned so I am trying to remain positive. I think a lot of our problems are down to the fact that my OH has a stressful job and he is struggling to give up cigarettes. He is also tired a lot so some months we are not exactly at it like rabbits