Hernias in Children

Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

Pediatric surgeon for inguinal hernia for 5yo?

April 2012

I am seeking a experienced pediatric surgeon for my 5yo. He has inguinal hernia. We took him to see Dr. James Betts in Oakland Children's Hospital and also Dr. Doug Miniati from UCSF. Both of them are good, it is hard to select who is better. Dr. Betts are older than Dr. Miniati, so I assumed more experienced? But Dr. Betts took more than 1 job (something related with firefighter), so his appointment is hard to make (is it a con? I want to have a doctor fully concentrate on ''doctor''). Has anyone had experience with the two doctors? Any advice on doctors and hernia surgery is appreciate. We also heard about Dr. Laurence Baskin, any one has comments on her? Thank you very much! Anxious & cautious mom

Betts and Hui and the other doctor, who is Nigerian (his name escapes me), are all excellent, all at Children's--that is the opinion of friends who are pediatricians and ped. anesthesiologists and friends who have done their residency at Children's. My child had an appendectomy by Hui, and he is top-notch, through, does beautiful surgery, and very kind. You cannot go wrong with the aforementioned three, and I might opt for the younger guy, nothing against Betts, who is a very fine surgeon. Fussy Consumer

All the pediatric surgeons at Children's Hospital are excellent practioners, and your child will be in good hands, whomever you choose. As you may know, this type of surgery is quite routine ( although stressful for you, of course!) and your child will probably recover very quickly. Children's Hospital RN

Dr. Sydorak for 7-year-old's hernia surgery?

Nov 2006

My 7 yr old son has an inguinal hernia and we are scheduling surgery with Dr. Roman Sydorak at Children's Hospital. Does anyone out there have any experience with him?

Dr Sydorak performed emergency surgery on my daughter when she was just 4 days old--and she's healed beautifully. My pediatrician says he's the best, and i believe her. From a parent's perpective, he was fantastic. He took plenty of time to explain to us exactly what was going on and what he was going to do, and in follow up visits he was patient with our questions. Interacting with parents seems to be a high priority for him. The nurses like him, too...All in all, i think you're in excellent hands.
very happy parent

Pediatric Hernia Surgeon?

May 2005

Hi, I am asking for a friend whose four-year-old needs a hernia operation. Has anyone had any experience with a pediatric surgeon in the Bay Area? Thanks, Jodi

My daughter had an inguinal hernia and had surgery at 13 months at Oakland Children's Hospital with Dr. Karen Cartwright. I highly recommend her. We had a very good impression of her, she was always available and nice and the surgery went very well. The procedure took about an hour; we were allowed to stay with her when they put her to sleep, then she was in the recovery room for about an hour (with us) and then we went home. She was well and running the same night. Now (after 6 months) we can hardly see the scar. Barbara

Baby diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia

March 2004

I am 22 weeks pregnant and the baby has been diagnosed through ultrasound to have a diaphragmatic hernia. We have done research and understand the diagnosis as well as the difficulties and uncertainties that lie ahead. I am wondering if there are others out there who are in the same situation or have had similar experiences, particularly dealing with the diagnosis during pregnancy. Perhaps there is a bay area support group for this that we are unaware of? Any information or feedback would be helpful.

Did anyone answer your post? I didn't, even though we've been through that diagnosis ourselves, because in our case we had multiple complications and a sad ending. My advice is to contact a genetic counselor. She (they are almost always women) will be able to put you in touch with all the resources specific to your circumstances. We would have been lost without our genetic counselor. Our counselor was Dolores Madden at Alta Bates. She's wonderful. Kaiser also has several good ones. Email me privately if you like.

Hernia Surgery for 3-year-old

April 2003

My 3-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with a hernia, and we have a referral to a pediatric surgeon. What are some questions that will be important to ask him or her? Any advice on how to prepare a 3-year-old for this surgery? (I am currently living outside the bay area, so I am not looking for recommendations for a particular physician). Thanks so much! Gail

Our son had hernia surgery this past summer when he was 2.5. He had an inguinal hernia (scrotal) so obviously your daughter's is different. I don't know how drastically different the two situations and surgeries are but I spent way too much time stressing over something that turned out to be no big deal (especially for my son). He knew that he had a ''bump'' that the doctor was going to fix at a special hospital. That was about as detailed as we got so as not to create anxiety. I had my bag packed with a few new presents to make any difficult times easier and to try and divert him from asking for food or drink. We had a long wait time between checking in and his actual surgery so that is when I gave him all the new things to play with. Luckily we were at a nice children's hospital so the surgery waiting room had toys and a tv to keep him entertained. Make sure you get as early a time as possible so that she doesn't have to go though the day without eating or drinking. The most difficult part was after his surgery when he came out of the anesthia. He was disoriented and really pissed about the iv board he had strapped to his arm (to keep his iv in). He screamed and struggled with it for about a half hour but was much better after we took off the board. Kids are truly amazing- I believe we stayed a few hours after to make sure he was okay and he played quietly the whole time. When it was time to go he actually ran out of the hospital and it was as if nothing had ever happened. Hopefully your experience will be as smooth as ours was. It wasn't fun but it wasn't horrible either. CB

Hernia Surgery for 9-year-old

June 2002

Our 9 year old daughter has just developed a hernia and will probably need surgery. We weren't able to get an appointment with Dr. Patte Bishop (who has been recommended to us) until July. Has anyone had any experience with Dr. Karen Cartwright? Our daughter is very active and we haven't been told to restrict activity. Has anyone experienced problems with their kids and hernias before getting them repaired? Thanks in advance.

My son's hernia was repaired by my favorite pediatric surgeon in Patte Bishop's group, Dr. Marilyn Butler, very personable and competant, shouldn't be intimidating to your daughter. Karen Cartwright is also excellent, but a little more ''gruff''. The ''Surgi-center'' where they operate at Children's Hospital worked out great- they put my son in my arms as soon as he arrived back from surgery and he could start drinking 2 hours later. Good luck... anon (mom and MD)

Inguinal Hernia surgery for 3-year-old

April 2000

I have a friend whose daughter requires a right inguinal hernia operation. She is currently scheduled to have Dr. Laurence Baskin, a pediatric urologist from UCSF, perform the surgery on her 3 year old daughter. Has anyone had any experience with Dr. Baskin that they could share with me and my friend? Has anyone had any experience with another pediatric urologist that could be recommended?

Our son was seen by the Berkeley Urological Associates at 2999 Regent Street. Dr. Joel Piser did his circumcision (at 2 yrs) and Dr. Chi Lee did his hernia operation (at 3 years). We were very impressed by both, not only with their bedside manner but also their skill. The surgery was performed at Children's Hospital on an outpatient basis.