Advice on Epiplocele Hernia in 13 Month Old in Phiadelphia, PA

I have one word of advice. INFORMATION. I am a nurse but that doesn't make me an expert on every medical condition although my family sometimes thinks so. I would do some internet searches and find out a couple things:

1. what exactly it is including worst and best case senerios.

2. how it is diagnosed..palpition(the MD feeling it),x-ray, MRI, CTscan, upper & lower GI series..and how it is treated medically vs surgically

3. revisit the surgeon and ask all the questions that you learned from your research

4. ask what are the outcomes of treatment short term vs long term...immediate cure or lasting disability...how it will effect her digestive tract and reproductive system

Don't be afraid of what you will find out. Your child all ready has the condition. She was born that way and that fact is completely out of your control. Your power is in knowing your battle and the weapons you'll use to beat it.
You are a good Mom you'll decide what's best for your child. And doctors do this for a living they know what they're doing. Millions of people are treated everyday by talented doctors that you never hear on the news...The rare quack is the only thing you hear on the news because it is rare that doctors don't know what they're talking about. You will get though this because there isn't anything else to do but go though it. We will say a pray for you that you pass though it with calm and stregnth.

A hernia is just a broad spectrum term that is used for a body part that is out of place. It can be anything. And it doesn't sound like the nurse explained herself. I would follow the surgeons advice.

I don't know anything about hernias, but if you are getting conflicting opinions about her diagnosis and the surgery can be avoided, I would definately want to be sure. I would not want my little one to have to undergo surgery unless absolutely necessary. There is enough risk associated with surgery in adults, let alone babies, that we should not approach it as carelessly as we, as a society, do. We really need to be sure that surgery is the best approach to the true problems that we are experiencing.

I would take the surgeon's opinion. My son has had two different types of hernias that both were surgically repaired. Things that I learned from the process -- hernias cannot be diagnosed by x-ray and seldomly by MRI. They are only truly useful if the hernia is stuck -- which is a true medical emergency. Most hernias are diagnosed by surgeons who see or feel the hernia. Hernias don't go away on their own and are usually easier to treat if treated early (when it's not an emergency) versus after something gets stuck. If you don't agree with the surgeon, get a second surgical opinion. Good luck!
H.