I had one this summer; it was a real easy operation. I went to a specialist clinc in London and this guy really knew what he was doing. If you get it early at this place they do it with local anesthetic. Mine had gotten too big so I couldn't but the op was still no problem. I walked in and walked out of the hospital (I was doped up tho :P). Hurt bad for a couple of days afterwards but I didn't take all the painkillers they gave me. No troubles walking after that.
Obviously the place is not much use to you but the site has some good info
http://www.hernia.org (site design is awful - luckily their real setup is better!)