@diverjer
I had a inguinal hernia for 13 years before my surgery. I had read stories similar to yours where once the surgeon was inside he discovers the hernia, unaware that it was their and proceeds to repair it. He may have thought you were not aware of it. I had been for two consultation’s on my hernia over the years and they have never advised me to watch and wait, they and I think all surgeons express the surgical opinion that things can south real quickly with a hernia and become an emergency if to become strangulated. Mine was discovered on a routine update CT for my non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It was just to me one of those extra findings and my oncologist never mentioned it. Three years later it was their again and I think I asked about it. So by that time I had gone three years with no issues and it was small so I ended up not doing anything. Years later in a conversation with my GP who wanted to do a hernia check and I mentioned it to him now about 7 years with it, he was insistent that I get a surgical consultation because of it. I saw the surgeon who although I had it for years was it needs to be fixed and when I pressed him like I had it for 7 years it’s possible nothing changes for another 7. He said yes, but and then gave all the dire warnings about lifting something too heavy having and exacerbating into an emergency. Well I just never went back. Now when I went into my surgical consultation for my prostatectomy I mentioned my hernia and did not want anything done unless it was absolutely necessary and my surgeon told me that he would not even consider adding another surgical procedure regardless and hernia repair was not his expertise and would not really want to do one. He said after surgery healing and recovery he would refer me to someone then. Almost two years later still have not done anthology