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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffFor children, complications of an umbilical hernia are rare. Complications can occur when the protruding abdominal tissue becomes trapped (incarcerated) and can no longer be pushed back into the abdominal cavity. This reduces the blood supply to the section of trapped intestine and can lead to umbilical pain and tissue damage. If the trapped portion of intestine is completely cut off from the blood supply (strangulated hernia), tissue death (gangrene) may occur. Infection may spread throughout the abdominal cavity, causing a life-threatening situation.
Adults with umbilical hernia are somewhat more likely to experience incarceration or obstruction of the intestines. Emergency surgery is typically required to treat these complications.
- Abdominal wall hernias. The Merck Manuals: Home Edition for Patients and Caregivers. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec09/ch132/ch132c.html. Accessed Jan. 26, 2010.
- Stoll BJ. The umbilicus. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/179974528-5/943858714/1608/337.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50107-9--cesec10_2769. Accessed Jan. 26, 2010.
- Brooks DC. Abdominal wall hernias. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 26, 2010.
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 4, 2010.
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