Experience with Umbilical Hernias

Hi S.,
My oldest son had an umbilical hernia. He got it when he was just a few weeks old and like the other moms who responded, it eventually went down and the result is an "outie."

I was concerned and consulted several of our friends who are doctors. Most of them said if its still a problem when he is a teenager THEN consider surgery. He's 5 now and its probably been a little outie since he was 2 or 3.

Hope this helps,
B.

My son had an epigastric hernia, a little different than an umbilical hernia. We noticed it at birth, it would poke out of his tummy, about 2 in. above his belly button whenever he cried. Our doctor decided to send us to a pediatric surgeon because these types of hernias don't close up on their own. He had the surgery just one month before his 2nd birthday. It was an outpatient surgery and he was up and around, eating french fries and running around later that same day. Kids are so resilient. I think if you have to have the surgery, the sooner the better. Best of luck, I hope everything goes well.

Hi S.

Both of my daughters were born with umbilical hernias. My oldest almost 4 cleared up on her own. No surgery. It was a very small one and it fixed itself about 2 yrs. ago. My 18 month old still has one. The doctor said they do not like to do surgery too early b/c they most often clear up on their own usually by age 4 or 5. He said to wait until she is 4yrs old to decide if I want surgery or not. He tends to think it will repair itself. It has been getting better at every check up. Her belly button does stick out with the extra skin. I just do not want her to get teased by this. Let me know what you decide and how it goes. GOOD LUCK!

hi S. - our little one (now 14 months) had a hernia, and we had it surgically repaired when she was about 5 months. hers was a hernia in the groin area, so not exactly the same as your situation, but similar. it was a scary situation, but we're glad it's done & taken care of. no worries about any hernia happening again. good luck with everything!

My daughter had a large umbilical hernia that didn't go away for a long time (at least 2 1/2). Her doctor did not recommend closing is surgically - he said it would be just fine unless it started to close and pinched the tissue, which it did not. My son also had a smaller one. I wouldn't recommend closing it surgically unless it was causing a problem. Our doctor said they can last until the child is up to 4 yo. Good luck.

Hi S.,
Our daughter had a umbilical hernia when she was born. The doctor (which we trust completly) told us to wait it out. She is now three and it seems to have healed. Watch her stools. If she struggles that is bad on the healing process. We are told now it is up to us put the surgery is not for anything other than cosmetic and we have decided to wait until she is bigger. Right now she doesn't care that she has an "outie".

One of my nieces suffered from this problem. I'm surprised your pediatrician allowed it to go this long. My niece had the surgical repair. she is now 16 and there have never been problems with this since she was an infant. One of my other sisters had this condition herself as an infant, my parents opted to allow nature to heal this on its own.....this sister recently went into surgery herself to have it reapaired as an adult. What I see is ....fix it now, or fix it later...I believe earlier is better as children grow and heal far faster and more efficiently than adults.
Best wishes to you both.

My youngest son had a very large umbilical hernia which we decided to wait out. It got smaller every year, but he still has an outie. At around age 3-5 kids would notice that his belly button was bigger than theirs, and would sometimes ask to see it, but he was not teased (which was my worry), and almost seemed to be proud of himself. We've always talked about it with positive affect, one more way that people can look a little different from one another. By age 5-7 no one really cared.

I developed an umbilical hernia when I was in my 20's. I'm not sure why. But it was extremely painful for me I had to have it surgically repaired. It was day surgery and no big deal. I have a scar inside my belly button but no other evidence except for never having a problem again. I just wonder if it hurts your baby. I guess that would dictate what you do. Good luck!

Evidently I had something of that nature as a baby, and the only side effect of having this taken care of is an 'outie' belly button which made bikini wearing rather unsightly. I guess my stomach did, too, hahaa. They might even be able to things differenty these days.

S.

My daughter had one and they usually recommended not to have the surgury until they are 4 or 5 because there stomach muscles are still strenghening and it could go back in. It never went back in. We ended up having the surgury. The surgury was 30 minutes and she recovered very quickly. I had it done when she was 4 years old.

My daughter has the same issue. The doctor said that it can take some time to heal. She's 22 mos. right now & her belly is fine. She has an outie & the hernia hasn't healed completely BUT her belly yields when I apply gentle pressure, we play with her belly button which is also soft. If the area is/has hard/ened I think that's when you should be concerned. My idea is that if the baby is fine, the area isn't hard or sore, and they're not even 4 yet then let it go...

My 4th child had this problem. My doctor told us to wait until he was older to see how it goes since she didn't recommend us doing surgery. We went to her when he was about 6 or 7 months (changed doctors) and she is still our doctor today and she still has yet to suggest this surgery to us. He had surgery at 3 weeks old for Pylorex Stenonis(sorry don't know how to spell it but its a blockage in his intestines). He will be 8 in July.

My husband had to have the surgery about 5 years ago and it still bothers him sometimes to this day. He has said as long as its not bothering our son we won't have it done just to do it. Just based on his experience.

Good luck to you. I would just listen to your pediatrician and follow their advise. If your not satisfied just get a second opinion.

Hi S.,
My little boy had this problem. His hernia stuck out quite a bit. We decided to wait a little while and see if it would repair on its own and did not. He got the very simple surgery to reapir it when he was 20 months old. It was an outpatient procedure and now he is 4 1/2 and you can't even see the scar.
My step-daughter on the other hand had the same thing, and her mom decided not to get the surgery. She is 7 now and it still sticks out very much. You can see it through her shirt. She says it does not hurt, but she is very embarrased about it. She will not wear a bikini or anything fitted, because it shows through.
Hope this helps a little.
A.

Hello, and yes I did go through this same experience with my son. He also was born with the umbilical hernia and I opted for the surgery because the older he got the bigger it got. The doctor told me that it would definatly not close and to keep for any further damage to occur to have the surger. Now i will tell you as was terrified because my soon was 6mos old and i did not know what to expect but it was an out patient procedure and and he recoverd very well and now he is an healthy 11 year old boy. I know you may be still a little but i hope my words encouraged you in some way.

my daughter has umbilical hernia. the doctor originally told me (at birth) that in most kids' cases, it takes care of itself by age 4 to 5. She is now 4.5 and it's still quite noticeable. It pokes out of her leotard at dance class and of course with her bathing suits. It never bothered her, or me, until last summer when an older friend (6 years old) pointed it out and said it was weird. I thought, "uh-oh, we go".... Funny thing is that it didn't phase my daughter after that comment. My concern is later in years. Kids can be so mean, you know. When we go this summer for her 5 year appt., I will ask about it again. I would say wait out the surgery. No sense in putting your daughter, or yourself, through that unless she's in pain. thankfully my daughter's never had any problems with it...knock on wood. good luck!

Hi S., my son had the same thing since birth. We end up having the surgery a few months before his 2nd birthday. I was freaking out at first because he was so little and I didn't like the idea of surgery, but I am glad I did it. It is better to do it when they are young. It was no big deal to him, he only had a day or 2 of soreness, but just keep her on the pain meds they give you. Also, it was an outpatient surgery so no overnight. The agony is just getting the fears out of your mind about the whole thing beacuse it is a more common problem than you think. My husband had it when he was a baby so ours was a hereditary issue. Hope this helps.