Three-year-old with possible inguinal hernia, what to expect from referral?

[Shinshin88]

Hi I think my son has an Inguinal hernia . He’s 3 years old . I first noticed this egg shaped lump on the right side of his groin when he was standing and having a tantrum ( totally disappeared when he lied down tho ) then noticed it again the next day ( again standing he was crying over something ) took him to the dr and it wasn’t there but the dr has referred him to see the paeds anyway ! In the last week I have noticed it ALOT - not all the time but a good few times a day ( so has his dad and grand dad ) does this sound like it’s one ? Dr couldn’t confirm ! Just wondering if anyone has experience of a child around this age with one / how long did you wait to see a paed and how long was surgery from then on ? How did your child heal etc ? Just looking for stories of what to expect really . Also how do the paeds confirm it if it’s not there when he sees them ? I managed to get a photo kind of ( as it easier to see in real life ) but will they scan him or just go by pics etc ? Thanks

it's most likely one of his testicles not a hernia.
either way i would expect surgical correction sooner than later and if an undescended testicle for it all to happen swiftly.

Okay thank you .The dr did feel his testicales . But he didn’t mention that as a possibility . To be honest that’s the first thought I had when I first saw it too !

My son had a groin hernia at age 2. He was in a lot of pain with it and was seen quickly. This was over 10 years ago though. Once he’d had the op he stayed overnight in hospital but healed quickly and was very soon back to his jolly self.

Thank you ! Do you remember what it looked like ? I’m still unsure . My son’s bulge is rather large on his right side . Seems to be a lot more visible lately ( mostly out now when standing but gone when lying down ) he’s not in pain with it . It feels hard to touch too

I can’t recall in all honesty. The main thing I remember is that it was more prominent when he cried. This then became a vicious circle, where if he cried it would clearly hurt him, which in turn would make the lump seem to push out more and so on. I know that my priority was to keep him calm as much as I could! I was lucky that he was a very good-natured boy so it wasn’t too difficult. Trying to prevent him straining was another thing that helped as even mild constipation and too much laughing could also be painful.
I hope your DS gets seen soon.

Thank you ! Yes he is the same it’s mostly out when he’s shouting or crying etc ! I hope so too … I rang the paediatricians today but they said it can take around 6 months to see him even tho he’s marked as urgent as they only run one clinic a month ! 😢 I’m glad your son managed to get treatment tho x

I’m sorry you’re having to wait so long. It’s so hard to see our DCs in distress, especially when they’re so small.
I don’t know if you’ve tried going via NHS choices for his referral or whether it’s an option in his case, but might be worth a look if not.
Also, I’m not sure whether the 18 week max wait for consultation led treatment applies here. Might be worth checking with your local PALS otherwise.
I really hope that your LO gets seen very soon, OP, and that his pain is manageable in the meantime x