You should not drive for 48 hrs after any general anaesthetic. After hernia surgery, you are advised to have some time off work to recover.  I normally advise you to plan to return to work 7 -10 days after surgery. If your job involves manual work with heavy lifting, this time may need to be extended to as long as 4 weeks. If your job is desk-based then you may be able to return slightly earlier, but this will depend upon the speed of your recovery.