Highlights & Basics
- Umbilical hernias will usually close by 4 to 5 years of age without treatment.
- Complications including incarceration, strangulation, and rupture are uncommon in children.
- Elective outpatient repair is associated with a low recurrence rate.
- Infection and bleeding are the two most common postoperative complications.
- Compression therapy (such as abdominal binders) is not helpful and may be harmful.
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Citations
Vohr BR, Rosenfield AG, Oh W. Umbilical hernia in the low-birth-weight infant (less than 1,500 gm). J Pediatr. 1977 May;90(5):807-8.[Abstract]
Bowling K, Hart N, Cox P, et al. Management of paediatric hernia. BMJ. 2017 Oct 19;359:j4484.[Abstract]
Halpern LJ. Spontaneous healing of umbilical hernias. JAMA. 1962 Nov 24;182(8):851-2.[Abstract]
1. Vohr BR, Rosenfield AG, Oh W. Umbilical hernia in the low-birth-weight infant (less than 1,500 gm). J Pediatr. 1977 May;90(5):807-8.[Abstract]
2. Bowling K, Hart N, Cox P, et al. Management of paediatric hernia. BMJ. 2017 Oct 19;359:j4484.[Abstract]
3. Meier DE, OlaOlorun DA, Omodele RA, et al. Incidence of umbilical hernia in African children: redefinition of "normal" and reevaluation of indications for repair. World J Surg. 2001 May;25(5):645-8.[Abstract]
4. Orda R, Nathan H. Surgical anatomy of the umbilical structures. Int Surg. 1973 Jul;58(7):458-64.[Abstract]
5. Halpern LJ. Spontaneous healing of umbilical hernias. JAMA. 1962 Nov 24;182(8):851-2.[Abstract]
6. Kaur M, Grandpierre V, Oltean I, et al. Predictors of spontaneous resolution of umbilical hernia in children. World J Pediatr Surg. 2021;4(3):e000287.[Abstract][Full Text]
7. Cilley RE. Disorders of the Umbilicus. In: Grosfeld JL, O'Neill JA Jr, Fonkalsrud ER, Coran AC, eds. Pediatric Surgery. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby/Elsevier, 2006:1151.
8. Hulsebos RG, Zeebregts CJ, de Langen ZJ. Perforation of a congenital umbilical hernia in a patient with Hurler's syndrome. J Pediatr Surg. 2004 Sep;39(9):1426-7.[Abstract]
9. Zens T, Nichol PF, Cartmill R, et al. Management of asymptomatic pediatric umbilical hernias: a systematic review. J Pediatr Surg. 2017 Nov;52(11):1723-31.[Abstract]
10. Morgan WW, White JJ, Stumbaugh S, et al. Prophylactic umbilical hernia repair in childhood to prevent adult incarceration. Surg Clin North Am. 1970 Aug;50(4):839-45.[Abstract]
11. Scherer LR 3rd, Grosfeld JL. Inguinal hernia and umbilical anomalies. Pediatr Clin North Am. 1993 Dec;40(6):1121-31.[Abstract]
12. Hills-Dunlap JL, Anandalwar SP, Kashtan MA, et al. Contemporary practice and perceptions surrounding the management of asymptomatic umbilical hernias in children: a survey of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. J Pediatr Surg. 2020 Oct;55(10):2052-7.[Abstract]
13. Halleran DR, Minneci PC, Cooper JN. Association between age and umbilical hernia repair outcomes in children: a multistate population-based cohort study. J Pediatr. 2020 Feb;217:125-30.e4.[Abstract]
14. Vrsansky P, Bourdelat D. Incarcerated umbilical hernia in children. Pediatr Surg Int. 1997;12(1):61-2.[Abstract]
15. Fall I, Sanou A, Ngom G, et al. Strangulated umbilical hernias in children. Pediatr Surg Int. 2006 Mar;22(3):233-5.[Abstract]
16. Weik J, Moores D. An unusual case of umbilical hernia rupture with evisceration. J Pediatr Surg. 2005 Apr;40(4):E33-5.[Abstract]
