A hernia is when an internal part of the body, such as an organ, pushes through a weakness in the muscle or surrounding tissue wall. Usually, your muscles are strong and tight enough to keep your intestines and organs in place, but sometimes they aren’t, causing a hernia.
An umbilical hernia occurs when tissue pokes through the part of the abdomen near to the navel (belly button). It is very common in young children, with as many as one in six children being affected.
What is an umbilical hernia repair?
It's an operation to push the bulge, which you can see or feel over the umbilicus (belly button), back into place and to strengthen the abdominal wall. The bulge is a bit of fat, tissue or bowel that has slipped through a weak spot in the muscle of the abdominal wall.
Is an operation really necessary?
- Almost all (90%) of umbilical hernias in children heal by themselves by the time the child reaches three or four years old. Your surgeon will probably recommend you wait for your child to reach this age before considering an operation.
- Very rarely, a bit of bowel can get trapped in the hernia. This can cause pain and vomiting, and could result in damage to your child’s intestine. To prevent this, a small operation is necessary.
Most children are operated on within two months of being seen by the doctor.
What caused the umbilical hernia?
During pregnancy, the umbilical cord passes through an opening in the baby's abdominal wall. This opening should close before birth, but in some cases the muscles do not seal completely, leaving a weak spot. This can lead to the development of an umbilical hernia.
In most cases of umbilical hernia, the hernia retracts (goes back in) and the muscles re-seal before the child reaches his or her first birthday.
Occasionally, an umbilical hernia can develop in adults. Risk factors for an umbilical hernia in adulthood include:
- obesity,
- heavy lifting,
- persistent coughing, and
- multiple pregnancies.
