According to a new series of medical studies, women with inguinal hernias are often misdiagnosed. The findings, which were spearheaded by a surgeon specializing in hernia repairs, could lead to better treatments for female hernia patients in New York and nationwide.

Although a serious problem in the health care industry, diagnostic errors do not receive a lot of attention. According to the Institute of Medicine, more attention is needed because delayed diagnoses and misdiagnoses could mean that the patients receive wrong or unnecessary treatments, which cause them financial, physical and psychological harm. Due to this, some patients in New York might want to be aware of their risk of being misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late.