Hernia? Hydrocele?

Last Thursday or Friday, when helping JF in the bathroom, I noticed that he's not as symmetrical as he used to be. I've never raised a little boy before, and I don't know much about normal male development, but this seemed odd. I asked AF to take a look at him. AF took a look and agreed that something wasn't quite right. Yesterday morning, AF called the pediatrician about it and made an appointment for 5:00 last night.

I was still at work when AF called me at 5:30 to say that he's taking JF to the ER. The pediatrician who saw JF had said it looked like a hernia. She said that if the ER doctor can't push it in, they'll have to do surgery. For an hour or two, I fretted. I looked up hernia on WebMD and Wikipedia. Based on what I had seen, I figured it was an inguinal hernia. I sent an e-mail message to my dad and all of my siblings about it and told a handful of co-workers about it.

Then AF called again to say that it's not a hernia. It's a hydrocele. But JF still needs outpatient surgery to repair it. The ER doctor gave AF the name and number of a surgeon and said to have JF seen this week. We figured it wasn't as bad as a hernia, but we thought it was still an emergency.

I looked up hydrocele on WebMD and Wikipedia. On the Wikipedia page for hydrocele, there is a Further Information link to a diagram that helps to explain it. Based on what I had seen, I'm guessing it's a non-communicating hydrocele. He's apparently had this all his life, but it wasn't noticable until now.

This morning, AF called the office of the recommended surgeon, and was told that the earliest JF could be seen is the 26th. What?! Isn't this an emergency?

Apparently not. AF accepted the appointment for the 26th, and then called JF's regular pediatrician. Dr. Strahlman said that it's okay to wait until the 26th and JF can continue going to daycare and PEP with his hydrocele, but we need to keep an eye on it. Since then, I've also heard that many boys have this.

I sent an update message to my family and co-workers. I was embarrassed about the false alarm, but all responses were supportive.

I'm also frustrated that my poor little boy has had one thing after another for the past two weeks: first the stomach virus, then the fever virus, then a head cold, and now a hydrocele. It would be nice if he could have a few weeks of health between each illness.

JF doesn't seem to be in any pain or discomfort due to the hydrocele, but he likes to play with it. It's a new toy to him!

I just hope that he's not traumatized by the surgery.