Inguinal Hernia - Austin,TX

Updated on January 12, 2012
A.P. asks from Austin, TX
6 answers

My 16 yo son has been diagnosed with an inguinal hernia. His ped has suggested surgery as being needed so we'll get a consult with a surgeon next. Has anyone's child (or yourself) had this condition? Did it require surgery? Apparently it could lead to necrosis of the intestine, as the hernia can cut off the blood supply. Yikes! Just seeking some personal experiences. We will be seeing a surgeon as son as I can get an appointment. Thanks!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

My daughter, had that.
At 7 years old she had surgery for it. Laproscopic surgery.
It was fine.
She had the top Surgeon here.

It was a 1 hour surgery. General Anesthesia... with a Pediatric Specialty team. They all talked to us about it.
It was fine.
My daughter was a trooper.
After the surgery, she was in recovery for a few hours. Then we went home. She rested... and stayed home from school for a few days.
Went back to school with a note from me about what she can or cannot do. Her recovery was for 6 weeks.... ideally. With no heavy lifting or activities... SO that, the internal sutures... can heal FULLY... without splitting.
The Surgeon said that if not completely healed, and a child does heavy activity in the meanwhile, they can split the sutures.

And YES, Hernias can get strangulated. This is VERY dangerous. It happened to our Surgeon's own son. He said that if it strangulates and gangrene sets in, you only have 2 hours or so, to get into surgery and fix it. Or you lose that organ or their life.

You cannot predict, IF a Hernia will strangulate.
That is the danger of it.

With a Hernia... internal organs sticks out of that hole. In my daughter's case, it was probably her Ovary etc. or intestines.

I recommend, having the surgery.
My daughter, was having pain from it.
And after her surgery, she was HAPPY and told us. Because now, she has no pain and does not have to worry about it strangulating.
We explained everything to her, as did our Pediatric Surgeon

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.O.

answers from San Antonio on

I had an inguinal hernia show up when I was 6 months pregnant with my youngest. Yes, if something happens with the intestine, it can be very serious.
I had it repaired when my son was about 4 months old. it was not a big deal. The procedure was quick, I was out of the hospital a couple hours later. I couldn't lift anything over 5 lbs for a few days and then not over 10 lbs for a week or so.

This was close to 20 yrs ago and I am sure the advances have made the procedure even easier and quicker now. Also, my hernia hurt a lot by the end of pregnancy and really hurt a lot after delivery---every day, all the time. Surgery fixed it and after the scar healed, I was pain free again!!! So the surgery helped in more than one way.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.M.

answers from Denver on

Yes, I had this a year ago when I was pregnant with my third baby. I knew I would be having another c-section so we scheduled the hernia surgery at the same time (I also had an umbilical hernia). Mine were under a lot of stress from the pregnancy and they were VERY painful. The doc said there was a chance nothing would happen and that the intenstines would never leak out of the hole but on they off-chance that something did happen, it would be VERY serious. I was so freaked out by the idea that I never considered not having it fixed. My recovery was a breeze and I even had a c-section! :)

1 mom found this helpful

X.O.

answers from Chicago on

My son had one at 3 months old and we had it repaired. It was a relatively easy surgery, his scar is tiny and barely noticable, and he recovered very quickly (granted, at 3 mos babies are very quick to spring back.)

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.S.

answers from San Antonio on

S.H. put it well. My son had one when he was in 2nd grade. We did surgery, he had a reaction to the anesthesia but nothing major (my husband and my son are both hyper-sensitive to narcotics). It just meant that it took a little longer for him to regain control of his legs. By the time he woke up on our couch the next morning, he was asking to watch movies and play with his Nintendo.

He was concerned about the scar and what it would look like. I showed him (ever so carefully) my C-Section scar and how it had totally faded. He is now 14 and his scar is a simple white line. Your son may be concerned about this but assure him it will completely fade to the point that he won't even remember he had surgery once.

Have the surgery. Spoil your son - he'll enjoy the attention. And he'll be good to go before he knows it.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.H.

answers from Louisville on

My son had that - double - at about the same age, discovered during a sports physical! Outpatient surgery (since neither was very large) at the beginning of Christmas break - and by Christmas you never knew he'd had surgery by his actions (actually about 2 days later, but we slowed him down!)

Funny thing is - pedi found them, had me calling the surgeon from his office at that visit - 30 minutes later we were in the surgeon's offce ... man, do I miss that pedi as you cannot get stuff like that done now!

1 mom found this helpful
For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions