Did you say my baby has a hernia?
When babies are born, most parents are ready to deal with common childhood ailments such as a pesky diaper rash, never-ending colds, and reoccurring ear infections. But many parents are thrown for a loop when their doctor diagnoses their baby with a hernia. Typically viewed as an adult disorder, nearly two percent of babies are born with hernias. Ninety percent of those diagnosed are boys.
How do babies get hernias
What are the symptoms?
Treatment
How do babies get hernias?
Babies don't get hernias from lifting bricks in the back yard. Hernias begin while still in the mother's womb. All fetuses have an opening in the abdominal wall as a part of the developmental process. In boys, this opening allows the testicles to drop from the abdomen into the scrotum. This hole usually closes shortly after birth.
Normally a small portion of the abdominal lining follows the testicle into the scrotum. "This small sac of lining, known as the processus vaginalis, leaves a hole between the abdomen and the scrotum," explains
Michael Marchildon, MD, Virtua/duPont pediatric general surgeon. "Over time, this weakness may allow the intestine to drop into the scrotum alongside the testicles causing what's known as an inguinal hernia." In other cases, the hole is too small for the intestine, but fluid fills the sac. This is another common ailment, often mistaken for a hernia, known as a hydrocele.
What are the symptoms?
Dr. Marchildon, a graduate of Stanford University School of Medicine, says that although babies are born with the disorder, parents might not notice the hernia for weeks or even months. "Parents may begin to see a bulge in the child's groin or swelling in the scrotum. The bulge is typically more obvious when the child is crying, coughing or straining."
Treatment
Although hernias typically don't cause the child pain, parents have few options when it comes to treatment. Dr. Marchildon explains that inguinal hernias will never go away and can be dangerous. "Surgery is the only way to correct the weakness. These hernias can become stuck or incarcerated." Once incarcerated, the pressure could stop the blood supply and strangle the intestine, damage the testicle or, in females, damage the ovary.
Hernia surgery is a fairly short procedure. The child is usually asleep less than an hour. The surgeon makes a small incision in the lower abdomen, just above the groin. The intestine or ovary is pushed back into the abdomen and the sac is tied off at its origin, closing the weakness. In most cases, the child is allowed to return home the same day.
Although hernia repairs are the most common surgical procedures in children, Dr. Marchildon explains that hernia surgery is a job for a highly trained surgical team. "No matter how simple the surgery, operating on children is a delicate procedure." The Virtua/duPont Children's Health Program offers a full team of pediatric specialists including surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses who specialize in providing medical care to children.