Hernia In Children

as we were on leave and the boys were still in their orientation week, we thought we'd take them to the hospital to see dr razak as we plan to circumcise asyraf end of the month and see dr azizi as hubby noticed that amir's scrotum was a bit swollen. we took the boys on monday, after school.

we saw dr razak first as dr azizi's clinic was still closed for lunch. the doctor checked asyraf's private parts and we discussed the date to admit him. while amir was next to him, the doctor said 'well, lets check yours as well.' hubby informed him that we've actually made an appointment to see dr azizi because we noticed the swell. the doctor had a worried expression on his face then pressed the side of amir's groin and said 'its hernia'.

we were surprised, to say the least. for me, this is boy-man territory. i dont get involved. i didnt even notice anything swollen, i just took hubby's word for it. so to have the doctor diagnose that on amir was a bit of a shock. the doctor wanted him to be admitted within the week, he suggested friday. i said, since i'm already on leave, why dont we do it on wednesday. at least i have a few days to monitor amir after he's been discharged, if we do it on a friday i only have the weekend.

dr razak called the ot and booked a room for wednesday morning. while he was on the phone, i said...errr can we do a minor circumcision as well? so there...2 boys admitted, both with boy-man problem. oh God give me strength and wisdom to get through this.

we went home and i did a bit of a research on hernia in children. i know most think it only happens to adults and, usually, to sportsmen. i read that hernia in children is indeed quite common. while 90% of the cases are for boys, girls do develop hernia.

hernia is a protrusion of body tissues throught a hole in other tissues. it happens when the inguinal tube, that the testes descends through from the abdomen to the groin, doesnt close properly after the testes descends. when the child cries or coughs or has wheezing, it puts a strain on the abdomen and makes the hernia obvious as it pushes the tissues out. a hernia can be seen as a bulge or swelling in the groin, for boys the swelling would be at the scrotum (exactly like amir).

a surgery is required to close the inguinal tube so that the tissues stay in place. incarceration, where the lump doesnt go away when a child relaxes and releases pressure on the abdomen, can happen which is why the tube has to be repaired once diagnosed. while hernia doesnt necessarily cause pain to the child, the doctor said its more of a feeling of 'senak' than pain which goes away, if incarceration happens it must be looked at on an urgent basis.

hernia on the right side of the groin is more common at 60% then the left side (at 25%). only 15% of the cases has hernia on both sides. amir's hernia is on the right side but dr razak will also 'go' into his left side in case the tube is also open. the doctor said its a simple procedure which will take about an hour. some patients do go home on the day of the procedure, at most it only requires an overnight observation, so i hope by thursday amir will be discharged, insyaallah.

for more reads on hernia, do refer the the following articles:
www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/hernia2.shtml
www.hernia.org/paeds.html
www.privatehealth.co.uk/news/august-2010/childrens-hernias-portland-hospital-3285