What is a pediatric hernia?

  Pediatric hernia, also called small intestinal hernia in Guangzhou, usually refers to congenital inguinal hernia in children. For boys, it is caused by the peritoneum receiving a pulling descent during the descent of the testes to the scrotum. As the testicle is positioned near the lower back during embryonic life, it gradually descends to the scrotum, but during the descent, a membrane, called the peritoneum, which wraps the intestines and liver and other organs in the abdominal cavity, is also partially pulled down to the scrotum with the testicle, forming a sheath – imagine a plastic bag that is normally used, with a corner pulled downward The sphincter becomes longer and forms a channel. This channel can be large or small, just small enough to hold the fluid that flows into the abdominal cavity and accumulates, forming a syringomyelia; if the channel is large, a hernia can form. The intestinal canal in the abdominal cavity also becomes the organ most likely to fall into the scrotum. If it is stuck in the channel, it constitutes an incarcerated hernia, and if not treated promptly, it may cause serious consequences such as necrosis of the intestinal canal.  The sphincter is present in all children, but most of it closes and disappears before birth. If the development of this process is delayed, it results in the formation of a hernia and syringomyelia after birth. If it does not close by 1 year of age, it is significantly less likely to close on its own and requires surgical treatment. However, the timing of surgery varies for different children according to their clinical presentation and medical history, especially for children with recurrent intussusception, which requires early surgery.