New hernia procedure spares children the trauma of surgery

A technique developed by Hong Kong researchers to correct a common birth defect is sparing children the trauma of open surgery.

The youngsters can be back at school a day after the procedure to repair a type of hernia using a laparoscope - a tiny camera on a flexible tube - inserted into the pelvic area, and a specially designed surgical hook inserted through the same keyhole opening.

As well as causing minimal discomfort and leaving only a tiny scar, the procedure reduces the risk of damage to adjoining organs, say surgeons at the Chinese University who yesterday held a press conference to publicise the procedure.

Congenital inguinal hernia mostly occurs in boys, when an opening in the lower abdomen called the inguinal canal fails to close after the testicles drop into the scrotum in the eighth month of the mother's pregnancy.

Untreated, it can cause the intestines to protrude through the opening and cause complications.

The researchers say the laparoscope clearly shows nearby organs, reducing the risk of damage. Unlike the new procedure, traditional open surgery is unable to detect a second hernia, which occurs in 20 to 30 per cent of cases.

'We can see the hernia very clearly ... the number of injury cases [resulting from the surgery] is almost zero,' said Yeung Chung-kwong, chief of paediatric surgery at Chinese University.