Hi All,

My baby boy is only 2 months old and it’s been 2 weeks since we noticed that my baby’s nappy area was swollen. When we took him to GH-KL, the Doctor confirmed that my baby boy has Inguinal Hernia. Unfortunately, there is no cure except undergoing a surgery.

As parents, me & my husband flabbergasted by the idea of putting our little son through a surgery so early. The doctor also informed us that there is a chance that the baby won’t wake up again after surgery, which makes us more scared.

Does any one know any massage/therapy or herbal remedies as an alternative to surgery? I heard according to Malay method, can try putting heated-up betel leaf in that area everyday morning. Is this true?

Please advice us.

Thank you.


This post has been edited by Mommy_2011: Mar 26 2011, 11:43 AM

My cousin's daughter had the same thing..and she went for the surgery when she was about 2 months old. I know it's heart-wrenching. I'm not sure of other alternative means.

there's only surgical.....

do understand what is a hernia before making an "unwise" move

Do you know what a hernia is?

Hi,

Yes, I've read many articles on internet already to understand about Inguinal hernia.

I heard from a friend that her baby's hernia was cured after following this method by putting betel Leaf on that swollen area everyday morning for 1 month. So we just want to try our luck, no harm in trying...

The surgery date is 4th July 2011, so I guess we could try other methods until that date...

Thank you.

As a pregnancy nears term, the testes of the baby start to descend from the abdominal cavity into the scrotum. During the descent, it pulls with it a tissue layer in the abdomen (called peritoneum) into the scrotum. Once the descent is complete, this tissue layer becomes sort of a pouch and its' rear end seals up. Sometimes, the rear end of the pouch fails to seal up, leaving an opening which allows abdominal structures (i.e intestines) to 'escape' into it, hence a 'hernia'.

If the opening of the pouch is small, the risk of strangulation is high if the intestines escape into it. Strangulated intestines will die and rupture and can be life-threatening. Adults can manually push (reduce) the hernias back into the abdomen. They can also tell early if there is pain / discomfort, leading them to seek treatment earlier. Therefore, risk of strangulation (or incarceration of hernia) is higher in babies.

Indirect inguinal hernias are common in baby boys, and the gold standard of treatment is via surgery, called herniorraphy / hernioplasty. No amount of massage / traditional oil /treatment will heal the hernia. The defect needs to be fixed. The surgery no doubt involves giving general anaesthesia to the baby. Every anaesthetic / surgical procedure carries with it some risk but the benefits of the surgery far outweigh the risks. A planned surgery (elective surgery) is far safer than an emergency surgery, done only when the hernia is strangulated.

Good luck

This post has been edited by samowong: Mar 28 2011, 11:43 AM

I'm taking my baby for the surgery tomorrow to GH-KL. He will be admitted in the morning hrs tomorrow since the surgery is on Monday.

I hope & pray everything would be alright...

Anybody know how to take care of the baby after Hernia surgery? Like shouldn't bathe him etc?

I will be on leave next week to take care of baby since it woudn't be wise to give him to the babysitter till few days after surgery.

good luck mommy_2011..i'm sure it's heartbreaking seeing your son at such a young age to go for a surgery.

Yeah it is extreamly heartbreaking, but no choice have to go for surgery.

Doctor said it's a very minor operation, which will last for less than 15min. I surely hope so... cos that 15min may seem like hours for me and hubby

yeah..15 mins seem like forever..i'm sure..update us after the surgery k?

My cousin's daughter also went for the surgery at about 2 months old..and it went well.

Sure will update after surgery

i am quite sure that the baby will be hospitalised for some time after the surgery....

and questions should be asked to the doctors in charged........

complications are unlikely

Last time I went for check-up Dr said baby will be kept in hospital overnight for monitoring purpose... Hopefully there would be no complication lar... So scared already...

I asked Dr how I have to take care of baby after surgery but she said don't have to do anything special, can bathe baby after 24hrs also

That's why I am not so sure how I'm supposed to take care of baby after i take him home! Don't want any complications!

Anyways will ask the doctors again

---

Added on July 9, 2011, 3:08 amHi All,

My baby is well after the surgery... No complications at all...

The wound is a 2cm cut and now it's drying up already ( I removed the plaster today as per Doctor's instructions).

Me and baby discharged on the same day of surgery after 5hrs monitoring period!

Most difficult part was making my baby fast for 6hrs before surgery... Poor baby trying to latch on to my breast in the middle of the night and me keep pushing him and trying to give water instead (Cos the Doc adviced only to give clear fluid from 2am - 6am) and 8am was the surgery.

Anyways, we survived through it and Mommy and baby back at home....

This post has been edited by Mommy_2011: Jul 9 2011, 03:08 AM