Umbilical Hernia

jasminelorraine20

DS is 15 months old and the pediatrician on base (I'm in the Air Force), said that if it doesn't go down by the time he's three then they will perform a surgery. I've heard a lot of things from other parents like 3 is way too long, ect. I'm curious to know if any other parents have toddlers with a hernia and if so, what are your pedi's saying about it? It doesn't seem to hurt him.

smileybabyboy

Nothing wrong with an outie belly button.  I had one and had it fixed when I was in high school.  It does not hurt at all.  

Katie829

smileybabyboy said:

Nothing wrong with an outie belly button.  I had one and had it fixed when I was in high school.  It does not hurt at all.  

It's not an outie, its a hernia which is weakening in the abdominal walls where intestines push out on.
DD has one and we have had a pediatric surgical consult. He told us that if it doesn't go away by 2 then they perform surgery. The reason they don't do it sooner is because it has a chance returning. I don't think 3 is too long to wait but we would rather have done a little earlier so that she doesn't really remember it and be afraid.

jasminelorraine20

Katie829 said:

smileybabyboy said:

Nothing wrong with an outie belly button.  I had one and had it fixed when I was in high school.  It does not hurt at all.  

It's not an outie, its a hernia which is weakening in the abdominal walls where intestines push out on.
DD has one and we have had a pediatric surgical consult. He told us that if it doesn't go away by 2 then they perform surgery. The reason they don't do it sooner is because it has a chance returning. I don't think 3 is too long to wait but we would rather have done a little earlier so that she doesn't really remember it and be afraid.

Thank you! I will not worry about it then. Just wanted to hear a second opinion.

mm&es

Our original pediatrician said it would probably fix itself by age 3 or 4.  DD is 4 now, and it is basically gone, but still just looks like an outie.  I wouldn't rush surgery if you don't need to.

Jessica+Penny

My daughter is 18 months old and also has an umbilical hernia. When I realized she had one, I read up on them and the literature says that as long as it doesn't cause a problem, then they won't do surgery until 3-4 years old. At our next well child appointment, the pediatrician saw it and agreed that waiting is the best action. It may correct itself, like mm&es's daughter.

It may be a "minor" surgery, but ANY surgery has its risks and I don't want to unnecessarily put my child under if there is a chance that it will go away.

Katie829

So funny that your pedis are like this. I went to the chief of pediatric surgery in a Boston hospitals who told me that it should go away by 2 and if it hasn't then it would need surgery around then.

AJW515

At the pediatric surgery center I work at we don't usually see them for repair until at least 3, usually more like 4 or 5.  As long as it's not causing any issues, I'd definitely take your pediatrician's advice and wait until at least 3.  For what its worth, kids do great after the repair, and are basically back to normal the next day.