DD has a hernia

[alleycat]

DD is 4 years old and we just found out she has a hernia. We have a consultation with a pediatric surgeon next week. What questions should I be asking?

So far I have:
What will the procedure entail?
How long is the recovery period?
DD has summer camp next month and starts pre-K in Set, should we wait until camp is over before surgery? Will the 4 weeks before pre-K be adequate for recovery?
DD takes swimming so how long before she can start lessons after surgery?
Will the anesthesiologist be a pediatric anesthesiologist?

I'm so bad at asking the right questions. Usually DH is with me and he would have a load of questions but he has to work that day and I can't postpone the appt since it would mean another 2 weeks to a month before getting in.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[scrooks]

Do you know what type of hernia it is? I know there are different kinds...
I had a hernia when I was 5. Mine was actually my ovary popping through the muscle wall. I had surgery- outpatient. I don't know the specifics (since I was only 5!) but the recovery wasn't too bad. I didn't miss too much school and am no worse for the wear 30 years later!

[mommylamb]

Do you know what type of hernia it is? I know there are different kinds...
I had a hernia when I was 5. Mine was actually my ovary popping through the muscle wall. I had surgery- outpatient. I don't know the specifics (since I was only 5!) but the recovery wasn't too bad. I didn't miss too much school and am no worse for the wear 30 years later!


I also had a hernia and had surgery when I was 5. I believe I was born with the hernia. Obviously, I don't remember the whole thing, but I don't think the recovery was too long. The doctors told my mother that I could probably live without the surgery without problems, but that it could rupture if I got pregnant during labor. Needless to say, I'm glad we got that sorted out.

[alleycat]

From researching on the internet, I gathered it's a reducible inguinal hernia. I noticed a golf ball size lump at the beginning of last month. She was crying. A few days later, it was gone. We went to visit my fil, who was a dr, and he confirmed it was a hernia. But because of the language barrier, I'm not sure if he said what kind. Took DD for her 4yr check up and asked her ped. She said it sounds like a hernia and we need to consult a pediatric surgeon. The lump was no longer there. I didn't ask any other questions (I said I was bad at asking questions). Made an appt with the surgeon and realized I should go in with a list of things to ask.

[ncat]

I had a hernia operation at 4 YO - honestly, I think it was a week or so that I couldn't take a real bath and no real problems.

[julieakc]

DS had an inguinal (groin area) hernia repair a week after his 3rd birthday.

We were at the hospital early in the morning and left mid-afternoon. We were there several hours before the surgery. I can't remember how long the surgery actually took....it seemed like forever, but that's just a mother worrying...and then we were with him in recovery for a couple hours before he went home.

I'm not sure what type of hernia your DD has, but I assume the procedure is still pretty much the same. A hernia means that their is a weakness in the abdominal wall muscles that is allowing the intenstines to squeeze through (where they're not supposed to). The surgeon made a small incision near the area and basically stitched up the tear/opening and then DS just had a couple of stiches for the incision (it was very small).

Recovery: He was supposed to rest for the first couple of days....the first afternoon he did as he was still groggy, but by the next morning he was pretty much back to his normal routine and it was hard to try to get him to take it easy. He was not supposed to ride a bike or do any activities that put pressure directly on the location of the surgery, but other than that he was free to do whatever he wanted. So honestly recovery was pretty quick. I can't remember swimming restrictions, but DS had his surgery in Feb. so that wasn't an issue. I think we just had to wait a day or 2 before he could have a bath. I wouldn't worry about the summer camp or preschool, but I would ask about swimming (more for the stitches than anything else).

Anesthesiologist: I think whether or not you have a pediatric one depends on the hospital. DS had his sx at Cedar Sinai and they have pediatric ones on staff so we had one. Plus for us, because of DS's syndrome anesthesia is a bigger risk so we were particularly cautious about this. I would definitely ask for a pediatric one.

I think your questions are good. I might also ask about the likelihood of re-currence (which is sometimes possible with hernias, although I think less likely for kids) and although this will be covered with your post-op instructions you might want to ask ahead of time about what kind of pain medication to give her after.

Good luck.