Page 25 - Waterfall City Issue 4 April 2024

Premature and syndromic babies are
predisposed to hernias. Umbilical
hernias are seen as a bulging of tissue
under the umbilical area. These are
found in up to 25% of newborns.
Although it may look alarming, as long
as the baby is healthy, it can initially be
treated conservatively with “watchful
waiting” as the defect often closes on
its own by around 3 to 4 years of age.
As the hernia gets smaller, it is more
likely that the bowel or fat inside the
abdomen may slip through the defect
and get stuck. This becomes a medical
emergency, and the child should be
taken to a doctor urgently. Symptoms
to look out for include pain, vomiting
and abdominal distension.

An inguinal hernia is a bulge in the groin
of the baby or toddler. It is a remnant
of a protruding piece of abdominal
wall lining, which failed to close before
birth. Inguinal hernias may bulge due to
fluid or bowel (sometimes an ovary in
girls) protruding through this sac. These
hernias occur more frequently in males.
They can be unilateral (only one side) or
bilateral (on both sides). Children with
cystic fibrosis and children undergoing
dialysis are predisposed. The treatment
of inguinal hernias is always surgical
due to the potential risk of injury and
blockage of the bowel within the hernia.
Adults may develop inguinal hernias
later in life, but the mechanism by which
this develops differs from that of a child;
hence, the operation for repairing the
defect also differs.
PHOTO BY KELLY SIKKEMA
There is also a wide range of
infrequently discussed conditions, of the male population is affected by the urine comes out) is not at the tip
alarming to parents and, later on, to this condition. This requires surgical but somewhere along the penis. It is
children. This is because they occur correction if the affected testis does not harmful early in life but should be
in the nappy area, so they are mostly not descend by eight months of age, surgically corrected at around a year of
unseen and hardly ever spoken of. as undescended testes are at risk of age, as this will have a bearing on self-
Undescended testes are one such decreased fertility and more at risk of image and fertility later on.
condition. In the developing embryo, developing cancer.
testes are found below the kidneys If you suspect any of the above
and make their way down to sit in the Some babies may have a condition conditions, it is important to have
scrotum by 36 weeks of gestation. called a buried penis. The shape of your child assessed by a healthcare
Hence, premature babies are at higher the penis is indistinct, and when the professional so that they may examine
risk of one (or both testes) remaining child urinates, there is a bulging of your baby and refer you appropriately
anywhere along the path of descent the skin. Hypospadias is a term that to a paediatric surgeon for further
and not in the scrotum. Around 1% refers to a penis whose urethra (where management.

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