Inguinal Hernia in a small child- Ensuring good results after hernia repair surgery

Though the hernia repair in a small child is an easy and straightforward surgery but anesthesia can be very tricky and difficult. Small babies need to be handled with lot of care including small well calculated doses of anesthesia, smaller tubes, gentle intubation for artificial breathing during surgery and all this needs to be done by a well-trained pediatric anesthetist.
Small babies become cold easily during surgery as they do not have much body fat or muscles which can shiver to keep them warm. Hence we try to make sure that the small children undergoing any surgery are kept warm during surgery. Some of the things which we do are: keeping the room temperature of operation theatre between 24-26 degrees, we wrap the baby in warm cotton rolls, warming pad under the baby at 37 degrees, restrict exposed areas of baby, cover the rest of body with warm sterile towels and lastly use only warm betadine/ saline to clean the areas before surgery.

A Hypospadias Surgeon’s Checklist before Hypospadias Surgery

Hypospadias is a congenital abnormality affecting Penis- one of the vital organs of the body. Penis is the end organ for two important functions of the body in a male – urinary and sexual function. Though parents and patients often worry more about sexual function, as an pediatric urologist and an expert hypospadias surgeon I know that both urinary and sexual functions are very important. A boy may need penis for its sexual function less frequently than for its urinary function. Besides the discussion what is more important, the goal of hypospadias surgery repair is to make sure that both functions are set right in one operation- single stage urethroplasty. Hence chordee correction (straightening of the curvature of the penis) and new urethra formation till the tip of penis are done in one setting, well almost always.

Tight foreskin in children – phimosis – preventing unnecessary circumcision

Our first choice nowadays for treatment of children who come with phimosis or tight foreskin is local steroid therapy using betamethasone. More than 1000 children have been treated by Dr A.K.Singal in his pediatric urology clinic all over Navi Mumbai and in Mumbai, India preventing unnecessary surgery (circumcision) in more than 800 children. This is particularly gratifying as circumcision has its own risks of infection, bleeding and anesthesia related complications.

Hernia Hydrocele in children- Know more!

Hernias in children are fairly common and have been documented to occur in 2-3% of the children and most of these appear in the first few months of age sometimes even at birth. The incidence of pediatric inguinal hernia is highest during the first year of life and then gradually decreases thereafter. One-third of children undergoing surgery for hernia are less than 6 months of age.

Kidney Stones in children

At Pediatric Urology division at MITR Hospital at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai and at MGM Hospital at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, we see about 20-30 kids with urinary stones/ kidney stones every year for the last few years. Dr A.K.Singal, Pediatric Urologist is well trained in managing the children with kidney stones using non-invasive means such as medications, extra-corporeal shock wave lithotripsy and sometimes endoscopic surgeries using lasers.

Kidney swelling in the unborn baby

Though fetal hydronephrosis is very common and may be alarming, the good part is that in up to 70% cases, this may go away by itself either before or after birth. A regular checkup with a Pediatric urologist is a must to ensure and confirm that this has happened.

Pediatric Urologist, Pediatric Urology – know more

Almost 50% of the surgical problems in children are urological in nature and the most common ones are hypospadias, undescended testis, phimosis, hydronephrosis due to pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction or reflux and urinary infections. Dr A.K.Singal, a top Pediatric Urology expert talks about how Pediatric urology offers the best care for children with urinary problems.