hernia repair?

snoangel79 · April 2012

Anyone out there with a preemie that needed this? We discovered one on the groin area of my daughter yesterday and brought her to the ER. Apparently needs to be repaired with surgery (although minor and common apparently) Just would like some feedback/ experience if you've gone through this. I hate that she has to have a surgery >:

rednelson · April 2012

My son (29 weeker) had an inguinal hernia that would slide into his scrotum that was discovered toward the end of his NICU stay. It almost kept us from leaving, but since the surgeon wasn't able to fit him in right away they decided to go ahead and discharge him and follow up as an outpatient. We met with the surgeon who said generally if it didn't heal by their due date (which it hadn't) it would need repair. The surgery was scheduled for march, but we ended up postponing it after meeting with our pulmonologist who recommended he not be hospitalized during RSV season if the surgery wasn't absolutely necessary at the time. Since his hernia was always reducable (able to easily be pushed back up) we felt comfortable waiting. In the meantime, it started protruding less and less, until we hadn't noticed it for quite some time. We just had a another appointment with the surgeon, who was no longer able to palpate the hernia. She says it may have healed down enough that the loop of bowel is no longer able poke through. She advised us to keep a close eye on it and if necessary we can do surgery later. We were so extremely happy that we followed our gut and waited. I don't think its very typical for these types of hernias to heal on their own-who knows if later on when he becomes more active it will start poking again, but thats a chance we were willing to take. So, depending on whether your daughters hernia is easily reduceable, you may want to ask if you can at least hold off on the surgery until the end of cold/flu season. If not, it's my understanding that the surgery is pretty quick, with a fast recovery. I know we were going to have to stay overnight for observation and that was it. Sorry for such a long response, but I hope that helps.

katie4253 · April 2012

Gabe had hernia surgery about 6 weeks after he came home from the NICU (3 months). He had to stay over night because he was a preemie. But, other than that, it was very minor. They used tylenol to control his pain.

May524 · April 2012

DS2 had bilateral inguinal hernias. They were very very large and had to be repaired before he was discharged. He had the surgery once he hit 4lbs. The surgery took longer than usual due to his small size and how big the hernias were. We were told to not be surprised if it needs to be repaired again. He had the surgery on Wednesday and we were discharged (after 101 days in the NICU) on Friday.

DenaRenee78 · April 2012

Yeah my son had two hernia's. Honestly the surgery to him was no big deal and did not seem to affect him at all. They did not fix it right away. They waited until he was a little older. I think he was about 1 when they finally fixed it. They knew it was there from birth though. He had to have a PDA closure on his heart too. They also waited on that as well until he was about 2. I was a nervous wreck through both surgeries but he handled it like a champ!

vsalt31 · April 2012

My DS has bilateral inguinal hernias as well. We are actually scheduled to have them repaired on Wednesday. I'm a bit anxious, but the surgeon assured me that these are very common. He said that the surgery itself should last about 90 min. They are also repairing an umbilical hernia (rather than having to go back under again at age 1). We we also staying over night due to ds's history with B's & D's and we are still on an apnea monitor. Good luck to you!!

GatorNurse · April 2012

My DD has an umbilical hernia that was quite large when we were discharged. Both our neo & pedi said they never worry about them this young bc usually tummy time & crawling will strengthen their abdominal wall & the fascia will tighten. Sure enough, it has significantly improved.

AlwaysSunny925 · April 2012

Aiden has a hernia that will be repaired on 4/18. I'm told it's no big deal, but any surgery is a big deal to a momma. If he wasn't a preemie he would be discharged the same day.

JuliaJAG · April 2012

GatorNurse:
My DD has an umbilical hernia that was quite large when we were discharged. Both our neo & pedi said they never worry about them this young bc usually tummy time & crawling will strengthen their abdominal wall & the fascia will tighten. Sure enough, it has significantly improved.

This is good to know. We noticed yesterday that my LO's innie had become an outie, and the nurse said it does feel like an umbilical hernia, but she acted as though it's no big deal and can be repaired later.

AlwaysSunny925 · April 2012

JuliaJAG:
GatorNurse:
My DD has an umbilical hernia that was quite large when we were discharged. Both our neo & pedi said they never worry about them this young bc usually tummy time & crawling will strengthen their abdominal wall & the fascia will tighten. Sure enough, it has significantly improved.
This is good to know. We noticed yesterday. That my LO's innie had become an outie, and the nurse said it does feel like an umbilical hernia, but she acted as though it's no big deal and can be repaired later.

Aiden also had an umbilical hernia that was quite big when we can home. He now has a beautiful belly button. It healed on its own.

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