I had Janessa to the doctor today. Well her regular doctor wasn't in and the doctor that saw her is very thorough in examining his patients. He was feeling her stomach and noticed that her belly button sticks WAAAAYYYYYY out. I mean it sticks right out through her shirt!!!! He is suggesting surgery to fix it. He said that at her age (4 1/2), it will not take care of itself, it will be that way forever, if its not operated on. I'm kind of leary about it, just because I really don't know much about what it might entail.
Has anyone had to deal with it or known of anyone who has had to deal with it?
I had a herniated belly button when I was a child and had it operated on when I was only 1 or 2... I can't remember anything about it though!! I still have a TINY scar on my belly button if you look carefully...
Why is it a problem if it sticks out?
Quote from: nicolejoy on January 25, 2007, 06:26:25 AM
I had a herniated belly button when I was a child and had it operated on when I was only 1 or 2... I can't remember anything about it though!! I still have a TINY scar on my belly button if you look carefully...
:anon: no peeking here :pi: lol
oops - I meant if the girls looked carefully, I don't want any boys looking!!! lol
Quote from: Mel-Mel on January 25, 2007, 07:19:06 AM
Why is it a problem if it sticks out?
It shows through all of her clothes!!! If shes wearing a tshirt or sweatshirt it shows through it. If shes wearing a dress for church or whatever, it shows through it. I guess the Drs. point is that later in life it may be a "cosmetic" issue. I understand that. Knowing how cruel kids and teenagers can be!! I don't want it to be something that gets made fun of.
I just figured they called them "outies" and left it at that...I thought there might have been a medical issue with it.
Hers is more than a normal "outie"!!!!!!!! The tip of it is about as round as a quarter!!!!!!!!!
Oh wow! :o
(Post a pic!) :laughhard: J/k
Yeah, it's pretty noticeable!!!!! When she was born I didn't think anything of it, because alot of babies have a herniated one, but normally by the time they're 2 or 3 it has closed itself up. Not hers though. She has a bad habit of pulling on it too, which grosses everybody out!!!
EWWWWWWW! I dont even want to think about that!!
Michael had a herniated belly button - he was operated on it .. It was rather large - he hasn't a belly button anymore and the scar is there but the hernia is gone.
My dad (age 67) just had a umbilical hernia fixed!! The doctor told him that he probably had it since birth, but that as he's aged and gotten a "bigger belly" that the fat tissue kind of leaked through it causing it to grow.
They gave my dad a local anesthetic and some medicine to relax him and he did great!!
I assmume that with a 4 year old that they would do a general anesthetic. A girl at church who is age 9 now, had hers fixed when she was 3 or 4 and she did fine!!!
I don't think that "cosmetic" reasons for fixing it are the ONLY reasons...........If a hernia is left un-fixed then eventually the bowel can protrude through the opening and become strangulated and then you'd be in for some SERIOUS complications.......
I WOULD get it fixed......
sharon
Last post on Today at 09:48:52 AM
in Re: Herniated Belly Butt... by Envelope
The way this thread shows up on the front page as the latest topic is funny.... :lol:
Zakarys belly button sticks way out like that. His doctors have never been concerned about it. Before I put her in for surgery, i'd be sure to get a second opinion.
In West Africa, when the babies are born, they make the belly buttons stick out like that. They think it's a sign of beauty, the more the belly button sticks out, the better. Zakary would be popular over there, haha.
speaking from personal experience with one of my kids....
yes, there is a difference between just an "outtie" and it actually being herniated. when it is herniated it pokes out a 1/2 inch or more, and tends to be discolored (redish or purplish, like a bruise); an "outtie" is just sort-of dome shaped rather than sinking in... basically it started to herniate, but corrected itself. what happens is that the umbilical cord is connected through a hole in the muscle of the stomach. if that hole does not heal properly after birth, underlying muscle and/or the intestine can bulge through. as long as there are no signs of the intestine being constricted, they will wait until the child is 4-5 years old to repair it. they basically sedate the child, make a small incision, tuck the intestine/muscle back inside, and stitch the muscle so that it can heal properly. it should be an outpatient surgery.
abigail's umbilical stump herniated, and they wanted to wait until she was 4 to do surgery. i prayed for her and God healed it.... she has a regular "innie" belly button.
The doctor told me that the surgery takes only a few minutes.
Quote from: Envelope on January 25, 2007, 02:48:52 PM
I don't think that "cosmetic" reasons for fixing it are the ONLY reasons...........If a hernia is left un-fixed then eventually the bowel can protrude through the opening and become strangulated and then you'd be in for some SERIOUS complications.......
I WOULD get it fixed......
sharon
I did not know that. I think that if that is the case I definitely want to get it done. I don't want to take any chances of anything happening at a later time. I feel that if she can get it done now instead of waiting, then we might as well do it.
my grandpa had an 'outtie' until one day he was walking along with a metal ladder (he's a painter) and it touch the electrical wire outside and electricuted him. They had to remove his "outtie" and now there's nothing there. The weirdest thing you ever saw.
Oh my!!!!! LOL!!!!!!
Seth has tooooo much time on his head..... :pound:
sharon
time on his HEAD?? I think you must have been thinking of that smiley and did a Freudian slip ;)
LOL
nicole, I did not notice............I meant HANDS!!!!! LOLOLOL
sharon
My son who is 8 yrs old now was born with a herniated belly button.Our doctor gave us the same advice:that unless it seemed to turn colors or bother him in any way to wait and see if it would correct itself.By the time he was 6 months old it was almost the size of a golf ball.When we changed his diaper or even accidentally touched it he would sream in pain.At 6 mo we had it repaired.It was a very simple outpatient surgery.He of course has no memory of the surgery and he has no belly button.The surgeon said he could make him a belly button but it would have cost us about 5 grand because our insurance doesn't cover cosmetic surgery.We didn't do it but if it bothers him when he becomes a teenager we want him to make the decision if he wants the surgery.As of now he just thinks we're weird because we all have holes in our bellies.