Madonna treated for hernia

Pop queen Madonna was treated for a hernia last week, it was confirmed today.

The news came as the 47-year-old mother of two was set to attend the biggest event in Britain’s music calendar, The Brit Awards.

The singer is thought to have had what her spokeswoman described as “a minor operation” in the United States last week following her show stopping performance at the Grammys.

The spokeswoman said the star had fully recovered and was still attending The Brits, where she is not expected to perform but is in the running for best Pop Act, International Female Solo Artist and International Album.

The New York Post reported that the London-based star went from the Grammys to Cedars Sinai Hospital in LA last week.

Dudley Rogg, clinic director of the British Hernia Centre, said that having a hernia had no connection to age or physical activity.

He said: “A hernia is a mechanical breakdown of the tummy muscles.

“The abdominal wall is nature’s corset. It is tough stuff but full of natural weaknesses like the perforation in a postage stamp.

“When you get a hernia one of these windows opens a little too wide and the corset effect is lost.

“The intestines come through and force their way through the wall.”

He added: “Some are excruciatingly painful but most don’t hurt at all. Unfortunately that’s part of the problem, people don’t tend to know it’s happening.

“When you have a reoccurrence it’s a much bigger operation and it increases the risk of a reoccurrence again.

“It’s just the luck of the draw. It’s nothing to do with physical fitness.

“One in 10 of us will get it. It’s the most common of surgical procedures. The truth is it’s a design fault. We’re all riddled with this natural weakness in the abdominal wall, it’s just a matter of luck.”

He said most hernia operations were under general anaesthetic and that in a few cases strangulated hernias could be life threatening.