Conference moira::parenting_v3

    
    
    Re: 0
    
    How was it detected that your son had Hernia?  When I took my son
    to his 17mo. check up and the doctor really got me concerned when
    she mentioned how big his belly (he's very tiny).  And then thats
    when she mentioned "hernia".  Since then I've been really worried.
    Do they have to be a certain age to detect this??
    
    
    -Nadine
    

    
    	My son has one side of the testicles huge and the other side small.
    I thought it was undescended, but the doctor thinks it chould be hernia
    or hydroceles.  He has been acting fine and has been healthy so I did
    not think it was a problem before I took him in to the checkup.
    
    	Masami
    

    Sorry no direct exposure to hernias (although my son's navel sticks out
    and I wish it didn't - doctor hasn't shown concern) but to help your
    son over the phobia of doctor's, there are a number of kid's books out
    there about doctor's offices and hospitals. I recommend you get one and
    read it casually to him. A toy doctor's kit might even be a good idea.
    
    Good luck with this!!!
    Andrea

    Size of the testicles ALONE isn't necessarily an indication of a
    hernia.  It is normal to have one testicle LOWER than the other, 
    (usually its the left).  Of course if one is up in the abdomen or a
    Dr. has diagnosed a problem then thats another matter. 
    
    Jeff

    
    	As a mater of fact, I borrowed a book called "going to the doctor"
    from the local libarary and read it several times to prepare him. I think
    he really got mad at getting undressed in a strange place when he does 
    not think it's necessary (He's not taking a bath or going to potty).
    He kept demanding for putting back his clothes on and I won't let him
    then he gets even worse..   He usually does not have fear of stranger or
    strange places, so I think he did not care for getting undressed.
    
    	We have fisher-price medical kit also.  It obviously did not help
    in this case...
    
    	My daughter (almost 4) loves to go to the doctor's office and she
    insists on going when even it's her brother's visit.  She knows the
    doctor cured her urinary tract infection and since then she is the
    biggest fan of the doctors.
    
    	Masami 

    My nephew Brian is the one who just had his hernia surgery last month. 
    We noticed that one testicle was getting larger than the other (they
    had been the same size) so my sister took him to the doctor.  He said
    that at that point he only had a hydrocele and that it would either go
    away or it would herniate within the next few months.  At that point it
    didn't bother Brian at all.
    
    A couple of months later we noticed that it was getting even bigger and
    it was sore for Brian when it was touched.  My sister called the doctor
    and he sent him straight to the surgeon.  He verified that it was a
    hernia and the surgery was done the next week.
    
    We were lucky that Brian didn't mind having the doctors check him out. 
    I was a little worried about it because he was just starting to get shy
    about having people see him undressed, but I guess he just decided that
    doctors were okay.  He's 3 1/2 though, I'm not sure how he would have
    reacted at 2.  Good luck.
    
                                                      Tracy
    
                                                    

    My 2 year old nephew (now 3 1/2) had a hernia.  He had a bulge on the
    left side of his groin right where the top of the leg meets whatever
    that part of the body is called (lower pelvic area).  He had surgery. 
    Then, a week later, my sister noticed the same thing on his other side. 
    He had to go back and have more surgery within a week.
    
    Anyway, he had tantrums but the nurses at the hopsital were great and
    of course, once he's under anesthesia, he won't be having the tantrums. 
    It was funny when my nephew came out of the anesthesia, he was crying
    for something and the nurse's couldn't figure out what he was asking
    for.  So, my sister went in the room and interpreted for them.  He
    wanted to hear the "Billy Joel tape" that my sister plays in her car.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Nancy

My son had hernia surgery last week.

Four months ago (he's now 19 1/2 months old), we noticed that one testicle
appeared slightly larger than the other.  This was noticeable sometimes, but
not always.  We asked the pediatrician, and he told us not to be concerned
unless we saw redness or apparent discomfort.  At his next visit (last month),
the pediatrician identified the swelling as a hydrocele and told us that we
should consider surgery now that it has not receded by the age of 18 months.

Two surgical consults agreed that our son had hydroceles (fluid accumulations)
in both testicles and that both sides had hernia and needed surgical repair.

The operation went remarkably smoothly.  Our son is not into his "terrible twos"
yet, but he did start fussing when we undressed him in the hospital.  The
nurse gave him a dropperful of sedative, which calmed him down enough so he
could be taken into the OR and given anesthesia.  He was in surgery about
an hour, and it took another half hour until he woke up.  He was miserable
for another hour after that, refusing food and drink, and fussing and crying
inconsolably.  He then fell asleep for about another hour.  When he
woke up again, he was _much_ cheerier and started walking about and drinking
almost immediately.

We wound up taking him home less than four hours after surgery began.  
Postoperative restrictions were no bathing, no climbing up or down stairs,
no swings, no roughhousing, no riding toys, and no sitting on our shoulders.

Since the operation, he has been on an emotional roller coaster.  Sometimes
he's happy as a lark, running around actively, and other times he just cries
and is hard to comfort.

After a week, the steri-strips came off and we can now bathe him.  Swings
are allowed, and he can climb up stairs, but sliding down stairs and the
other restrictions remain for three more weeks.  He seems to have recovered
almost completely by now.

Best of luck with your son!

My son had hydrocele surgery when he was 4.

Be aware that if there is a hydrocele on one side, it is most likely
on the other side also.  As many as half of all boys are born with
hydroceles, but most seal up on their own.

Not to scare you, but I will point out that my son also has an undetected
undescended testicle on one side. The fluid caused the scrotum to be so
swollen that both the pediatrician and the surgeon missed it on examination
and didn't find it until surgery.  He also had omenta (stomach fat) that had
shifted down into the other side.

From my experience, it's nothing to fool with, and should be corrected.

The surgery was longer than expected because of the suprise problems, and
we aren't too sure about the viability of the vas of the undescended
testicle, but Matthew popped back pretty quickly. The hard part is
convincing them not to run and jump, wrestle, etc. until the recovery
period is over.

Eileen

    Hernias are nothing to fool with!  Two of my sons were born with them,
    and had to undergo surgery.   Hydroceles are fluid accumulation around
    the testicle.  Hernia is an opening in the wall of the abdominal
    cavity.  This is the serious part because if the intestine happens to
    drop through it can become constricted (or twisted) and the child will
    die.  If this happens it is relatively obvious:  bluish color in area
    between penis and base of abdomen, and PAIN.  If this occurs, get to
    the hospital FAST for emergency surgery (our surgeon gave us his home #
    in case this happened during the week we were waiting for the surgery).
    
    Hydroceles and hernias sometimes take care of themselves, especially in
    babies.  But that has not been the case for us.  The surgery was much
    more traumatic for us, but the boys bounced back in no time (they were
    pretty young, but I expected them to be grouchy...they seemed none the
    worse for wear!)
    
    Laura

    
    	Just to report what's going on.  We took him to a surgen last week
    and he was diagnosed with Hernia.  He is getting his surgery on 1/25.
    I have an pre-surgery appointment 2 days before the surgery to ask
    any questions and get some tests done.  
    
    	Thank you for all the information and sharing your experience.  It
    helps to know all the facts and what we may experience in advance.
    
    	As for my son throwing temper at the doctor's office, he behaved
    very well this time.  My husband took his there, but he was in good
    mood and did not fuss at all.  We kept telling him that he is supposed 
    to take his pants and diaper off when he goes to see the doctor and
    I think that helped to prepare him.  He did not like to get his clothes 
    off last 2 times he was in the doctor's office and threw tempers. 
    I don't really understand 2 year olds.  They can be well behaved perfect
    children one minute and they could be monters the next minute...
    
      
    	Masami
    
    	 

    
    	I need to ask more information from experienced parents.  He
    finally had a surgery last Friday and surgery went well.  He is having
    a problem recovering and I'd like to hear how long it took for other 
    children to recover from the surgery.
    
    	His wound is healing nicely, but his testicles are swollen really
    badly.  I took my son to the doctor twice after the surgery to make
    sure it's normal amount of swelling.   It looks like it's bruised black
    and blue and the surgen said it's internal bleeding, but nothing to
    worry about.  He told us to keep the cold compress on the affected area
    and it will get better slowly in 2-3 weeks. He said since he had
    hydrocele treated at the time of surgery, it is normal to see some
    amount of swelling.
    
    	My son seems to be uncomfortable and cannot walk or sit down with
    his swelling.  He has to lay on his back and he gets tired of doing
    that also.    
    
    	Did any other children have same sort of problem and how long did
    it  take them to resume their normal routines?  My son gets board with
    watching the "Little mermaid" for 100th times, but that's about what he can
    do for now....
    
    	Thanks,
    	Masami
    

    Brian was very lucky in his recovery from hernia surgery.  He didn't
    have any swelling or black and blues, and it didn't seem to be painful
    for him after the first few hours.  He had his surgery at 8 AM, got
    home by noon, stayed on the couch watching videos for the afternoon,
    and by evening he was pretty much back to normal.  In fact, we had to
    keep reminding him not to jump off of the couch.  The little bandages
    on his incision stayed on for four days or so, and now all that's left
    is the scar.
    
    I'm not sure what the difference would be.  Maybe Brian's hernia wasn't
    as severe as your son's was.  It seems like that could definitely make
    a difference in the recovery.  It also seems like Brian has a high (or
    is it low?) pain threshold.  He once had an ear infection so severe
    that his eardrum burst, but it didn't bother him at all.
    
    I know that the doctor's words don't help too much when you've got a
    hurting child in front of you, but I'd take it as a good sign that he's 
    not concerned -- it must be within the range of a "typical" recovery.
    Good luck to you and your son.
    
                                                  Tracy