“When should a pediatric inguinal hernia be repaired?”
My daughter has an inguinal hernia. When should a pediatric inguinal hernia be repaired?
4 Answers
Pediatric surgeons usually fix inguinal hernia electively once diagnosed. The hernia developmental, due to a patient process vaginalis. The risk is that a piece of bowel may "herniate" through this tract and cut off its blood supply. Unfortunately babies have only one communication tool so we could miss this, so better to fix the hernia electively over an emergency bowel resection.
So if the hernia is diagnosed in the NICU we fix them before the child goes home. If the child is <60 weeks gestational age when seen at clinic we schedule them urgently and because the general anesthesia may cause the child to not breathe, they will need to stay for 24 hours observation on a heart and respiratory monitor. After that age the procedure is outpatient.
So if the hernia is diagnosed in the NICU we fix them before the child goes home. If the child is <60 weeks gestational age when seen at clinic we schedule them urgently and because the general anesthesia may cause the child to not breathe, they will need to stay for 24 hours observation on a heart and respiratory monitor. After that age the procedure is outpatient.
Pediatric inguinal hernias that are reducible (able to be pushed back in) should be repaired by the age of 1. This helps prevent the development of complications, such as incarceration, when the hernia gets stuck protruding out and becomes increasingly painful.
Except when there are other medical issues making anesthesia unwise, hernias should be repaired within a few months of their diagnosis.
The child needs an ultrasound of the area. Consult Pediatric Surgery.
