Can a hernia heal on its own? It is possible for a hernia to heal on its own within one year of age. Within one year of age, some children have a hernia that is not completely atretic because the peritoneal sphincter is not completely atretic, but with growth and development and strengthening of the abdominal wall muscles, some children’s hernias can heal on their own again. However, clinical observation shows that over the age of 1 year, there is basically no possibility of self-healing, and even if the hernia heals itself for a short time, it will come out again later. Therefore, surgery should be performed above 1 year of age, and the textbook also uses 1 year of age as the limit. within 1 year of age, surgery should be performed promptly if ingrowth occurs frequently or if ingrowth cannot be relieved regardless of age. Other than that, in principle, surgery is not recommended within 1 year of age. Because the age is too young, the peritoneum is thin and easily tears off after ligation, causing recurrence. More importantly, the risk of anesthesia is also high within 1 year of age, so it is recommended to operate only after one year of age, to do laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery, and then to do it again when they are less old (around 1.5 years old) is more appropriate. In children older than one year, but the hernia is not very frequent and can be repositioned, should they be observed again or should they have surgery? It is better to operate. The typical hernia is a reducible mass in the inguinal region that disappears when lying down or goes in when pushed by hand. However, hernias can also appear intermittently, only when there is a sharp increase in abdominal pressure, which also indicates that the sphincter is not yet atretic and will basically not heal on its own with increased activity over the age of 1 year, so surgery is still indicated. Is there any effect of general anesthesia? Some parents are worried about anesthesia and want to wait until they don’t need general anesthesia before having surgery. There is no age limit for minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery, and general anesthesia is required for laparoscopic surgery in both adults and children. Modern normal general anesthesia has no effect on children. Minimally invasive hernia surgery in children at our hospital is performed using the least invasive and safest laryngeal mask anesthesia. When is the best time to operate for a hernia? Except for strangulated hernia which requires emergency surgery, general hernia surgery can be done electively, depending on the time of the parents and the child, and there is no requirement for seasonality. However, it is not easy to delay for too long, because a hernia may affect the development of the genitals after a long period of time.