Some parents may find that a bulge will appear under the child’s belly when the child is crying, and the doctor will tell the parents that this is a child hernia. Symptoms This strange bag is usually found unintentionally by parents when the child is crying or taking a bath, and it appears as a prominent bulge under the small tummy, near the root of the thigh, which is usually very soft and varies in size. In rare cases, the bulge may appear suddenly and cannot be pushed back, which is a danger sign and must be seen by a doctor as soon as possible. What is a bulge? A child’s hernia is commonly known as a small intestine hernia. The reason why children get a hernia is because of congenital developmental problems. Childhood hernia is mostly seen in premature babies and boys, but also in girls, but relatively rarely. The reason for this is that in the first month of life, the testicles descend from the abdominal cavity along the inguinal region to the scrotum, and the peritoneal hole called the sphincter is formed and will close on its own. This is a child hernia, and the bulge will be more obvious when the abdominal pressure increases when the child cries, stands or squats. In girls, the round ligament of the uterus is in that area, and hernias can occur in individual cases. The age of onset of hernia in children is variable, and it can occur at several years of age along with the growth and development of the child, and some of them can develop in adulthood. The current treatment principle for hernia in children is that if it is not serious within 1.5 years of age, it can be treated conservatively by making a hernia belt similar to tight-fitting shorts and protecting the child by consciously pressing the bulge with the parent’s hand when the child is crying. If the hernia does not heal on its own or if the bulge worsens after 1.5 years of age, surgery is required. Surgical treatment is very simple: find the hole and ligate it with a silk thread, called high ligation of the hernia sac! There are two ways to do this: one is an open incision to find the hole and ligate it from the outside inwards, and the other is a laparoscopic operation where a small hole is made in the abdominal wall and the hole is ligated from inside the abdominal cavity at an absolute high level under the direct view of the laparoscope. We now use laparoscopic surgery for children’s hernias, which is a demanding procedure but has a rapid recovery, low recurrence and minimal side effects. The normal polypropylene patch, which is often referred to as a tension-free hernia repair, should not be used for pediatric hernia patients because it has a certain rate of contracture and the change in height as the child develops and grows can cause pain. There is a situation that needs to be taken very seriously where the bulge suddenly increases when the child suddenly strains or cries loudly, and cannot be pushed back! This is called an incarcerated hernia! This is a dangerous condition that can cause life-threatening intestinal necrosis and requires immediate medical attention.