Umbilical hernia

Umbilical hernia
Classification and external resources
Children with umbilical hernias, Sierra Leone (West Africa), 1967.
ICD-10	K42
ICD-9	551-553
DiseasesDB	23647
MedlinePlus	000987
MeSH	D006554

Congenital umbilical hernia is a congenital malformation of the umbilicus. Among adults, it is three times more common in women than in men; among children, the ratio is roughly equal.^[1] It is also found to be more common in children of African descent. An acquired umbilical hernia directly results from increased intra-abdominal pressure caused by obesity, heavy lifting, a long history of coughing, or multiple pregnancies.^[2]

Presentation

A hernia is present at the site of the umbilicus (commonly called a navel, or belly button) in the newborn; although sometimes quite large, these hernias tend to resolve without any treatment by around the age of 2–3 years.^{[3][citation needed]} Obstruction and strangulation of the hernia is rare because the underlying defect in the abdominal wall is larger than in an inguinal hernia of the newborn. The size of the base of the herniated tissue is inversely correlated with risk of strangulation (i.e. narrow base is more likely to strangulate).

Babies are prone to this malformation because of the process during fetal development by which the abdominal organs form outside the abdominal cavity, later returning into it through an opening which will become the umbilicus.

Differential diagnosis

Importantly this type of hernia must be distinguished from a paraumbilical hernia, which occurs in adults and involves a defect in the midline near to the umbilicus, and from omphalocele.

Treatment

When the orifice is small(< 1 or 2 cm), 90% close within 3 years (some sources state 85% of all umbilical hernias, regardless of size^[4]), and if these hernias are asymptomatic, reducible, and don't enlarge, no surgery is needed (and in other cases it must be considered). In some communities mothers routinely push the small bulge back in and tape a coin over the palpable hernia hole until closure occurs. This practice is not medically recommended as there is a small risk of trapping a loop of bowel under part of the coin resulting in a small area of ischemic bowel. The use of bandages or other articles to continuously reduce the hernia is not evidence-based.

An umbilical hernia can be fixed in two different ways. The surgeon can opt to stitch the walls of the abdominal or he/she can place mesh over the opening and stitch it to the abdominal walls. The latter is of a stronger hold and is commonly used for larger defects in the abdominal wall. Most surgeons will not repair the hernia until 5–6 years after the baby is born.^{[citation needed]}

The amount of projection of the swelling varies from child to child. In some, it may be just a small protrusion; in others it may be a large rounded swelling bulging out when the baby cries. This may hardly be visible when the child is quiet and or sleeping. Normally, the abdominal muscles converge and fuse at the umbilicus during the formation stage, however, in some cases, there remains a gap where the muscles do not close and through this gap the inner intestines come up and bulge under the skin, giving rise to the Umbilical Hernia The bulge of contents can easily be pushed back and reduced into the abdominal cavity.

In contrast to an inguinal hernia, the complication incidence is very low, also, the gap in the muscles usually closes with time and the hernia disappears on its own. The treatment of this condition is essentially conservative - observation allowing the child to grow up and see if it disappears. Operation and closure of the defect is required only if the hernia persists after the age of 3 years, or, if the child has an episode of complication during the period of observation like: irreducibility, intestinal obstruction, abdominal distension with vomiting, red shiny painful skin over the swelling. Surgery is always done under anesthesia, and the defect in the muscles is defined and the edges of the muscles are brought together with sutures to close the defect. The child needs to stay in the hospital for 2 days and the healing is complete in 8 days.

At times, there may be a fleshy red swelling seen in the hollow of the umbilicus that persists after the cord has fallen off. It may bleed on touch, or may stain the clothes coming in contact with it. This needs to be shown to a Pediatric Surgeon. This is most likely to be an Umbilical Polyp and the therapy is to tie it at the base with a stitch so that it falls off and there is no bleeding. Alternatively, it may be an Umbilical Granuloma that responds well to local application of dry salt or Silver Nitrate but may take a few weeks to heal and get dry.^[5]

See also

• Fetal development
• Umbilicoplasty
• Paraumbilical hernia
• Omphalocoele

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Umbilical hernia.

• Overview at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Overview at Penn State