I am a 73 year old female in the same situation. My hernia doesn't usually cause me problems except when it "pops out" and then I ease it back into place (it's a bit smaller than a golf ball then). I wear a truss during the day. You don't mention your age, but at 73 I am doing watchful waiting because of fears of greater pain after surgery. I read an article from Dr Keith W. Roach who said the only reason to have the surgery was to prevent problems. Younger people have more time for the hernia to stretch out. He said "the liklihood of an emergency developing is small (less than 5% risk over the next 20 years) and it's entirely reasonable to watch if any symptoms develop and wait to do surgery then." Dr Roach writes a syndicated column answering health questions. You can find some of his writings, including this article, on-line and on his Facebook page.