In every family, the birth of a child is a joyful event. But sometimes with the birth of a baby, problems and worries related to his health are added. One of these problems is hydrocele in a child.

This disease is associated with excessive formation and accumulation of sterile fluid in the membranes of the testicles. As a result, there is an imbalance between fluid absorption and its production. This pathology occurs in almost 10% of newborn boys. Therefore, it is important to study all the nuances associated with the disease in order to solve the problem in a timely and correct manner.

Description and classification of the disease

With testicular hydrocele (hydrocele), the accumulation of fluid in the scrotum leads to its enlargement. Its volume can be from several millimeters to several tens of millimeters (less often). Typically, dropsy in newborns is bilateral. She may be accompanied inguinal hernia, accumulation of lymph in the membranes that protect the testicles. This pathology It is generally painless and does not cause much discomfort. But when dropsy grows to a large size, problems with urination and sexual dysfunction may occur.

Based on their origin, hydrocele is divided into congenital (physiological) and acquired forms. Physiological dropsy occurs due to certain congenital factors. The acquired form is the result of injuries, surgical interventions, and existing diseases. In newborn boys, the congenital form of hydrocele is mainly found. It may be temporary and disappear within a month.

The formation of the genital organs occurs in the womb. The testicles begin to emerge in the retroperitoneal region. Gradually, the testicle descends into the scrotum through the processus vaginalis. The testicular membrane pulls the peritoneum along with it. A funnel appears, which should close by the time of birth. If this process is disrupted, fluid begins to accumulate in the testicles.

Physiological dropsy can manifest itself in 2 types:

• Isolated (non-communicating) - the testicular membrane and the abdominal cavity are isolated from each other. The liquid collects in the shell and does not move anywhere.
• Primary (communicating) – the cavity of the vaginal membrane and abdominal cavity connected to each other. From the scrotum, the contents of the dropsy can enter the abdominal cavity and flow back. This form is more dangerous because it is fraught with the formation of an inguinal hernia.

Pay attention! Hydrocele of the testicles is removed surgically in most cases. An exception is children under 1.5 years of age with a congenital form that can resolve on its own.

Causes of hydrocele in newborns

The development of this disorder in infants may be preceded by a number of factors. The canal between the peritoneum and the scrotum does not heal for the following reasons:

• intrauterine infection due to pregnancy pathologies;
• threat of miscarriage;
• chronic diseases in a pregnant woman;
• peritoneal dialysis in the treatment of kidney pathologies;
• premature baby;
• heredity;
• high intra-abdominal pressure as a result of intrauterine diseases (inflammation of the testicles, epididymitis).

Mechanical causes of hydrocele in boys:

• scrotal injury;
• testicular torsion;
• postoperative complications;
• damage to the lymphatic system.

Any inflammatory process or mechanical damage may cause disruption physiological structure spermatic cord and reabsorption of fluid from the testicular membrane.

Characteristic signs and symptoms

In general, hydrocele does not cause much discomfort. In infants congenital pathology It is usually discovered in the maternity hospital. Parents are also on time hygiene procedures may detect the presence of testicular hydrocele.

Signs of the disease:

• noticeable enlargement of 2 testicles (less often one);
• swelling of the scrotum;
• the skin over the testicle is unchanged and mobile;
• the formation is dense to the touch;
• if fluid enters the inguinal canal, the formation becomes like an hourglass.

With a complicated form of dropsy, the following symptoms may be observed:

• pain and hyperemia of the scrotum;
• high temperature;
• chills;
• general weakness;
• nausea;
• urinary disturbance.

Diagnostics

When the first symptoms of testicular hydrocele are detected in an infant, it must be shown to a pediatric urologist. He will prescribe tests, based on the results of which a decision on further treatment will be made.

• General analysis of urine and blood. Such a study makes it possible to exclude or confirm the presence of other accompanying pathologies genitourinary system.
• Ultrasound - allows you to examine the membranes of the testicles and determine the presence and amount of fluid in them.
• Diaphanoscopy - bringing a light source closer to the scrotum and illuminating it.

Methods and general rules for treating pathology

How to treat hydrocele in a boy? Based on the research results and taking into account the patient’s age, treatment is prescribed. If testicular hydrocele is detected in a newborn, then conservative tactics are first applied. It consists of constant monitoring of the nature and dynamics of the pathology by a urologist until the child reaches 2 years of age. After which, in most cases, the dropsy is removed surgically.

Surgical intervention

Surgery may be required for children under 2 years of age in the following cases:

• the presence of an inguinal hernia;
• constant discomfort in the groin area;
• significant enlargement of the scrotum, which causes severe discomfort.

Before surgery, the child should not have any other concomitant infections other than hydrcele. If he just had ARVI, go with others colds, you need to wait until his body gets stronger.

On the eve of the intervention, blood and urine are donated general analysis. Before the operation, you need to stop eating and drinking 6 hours. The operation itself takes 30-40 minutes.

Today the following surgical methods are used:

• Operation Ross– cut off and bandage the internal inguinal ring. The method is suitable for isolated forms of hydrocele.
• Bergman's operation– cutting off the inner shell of the testicle to the base. Its remains are sheathed. Sometimes a pressure bandage and drainage are required.
• Operation Lord– a less traumatic method in which the vaginal membrane is corrugated without removing the testicle into the wound.

For small children surgery carried out under general anesthesia. This will get rid of unnecessary emotional stress And negative emotions. First, a mask with anesthetic gases is used. And after the baby falls asleep, a catheter is inserted into his vein. During the operation, the heartbeat and blood pressure are constantly monitored.

After the operation, the child must remain in the ward for some time. After 2-3 hours he can be given water, and after another couple of hours he can be fed. You are usually discharged home the same day or the next. After the operation, the patient will not have pain, but if pain occurs, you can give him Paracetamol or Ibuprofen.

Caring for your child after surgery

To rehabilitation period after the intervention there were no complications, it is necessary to follow the recommendations for caring for the baby:

• Make sure that the child avoids touching the wound and does not cause bleeding.
• Do not wet the wound for a week.

• After changing the diaper, apply local antiseptics to the seams, as prescribed by the doctor.
• If there is pain when touching the scrotum, it is recommended to give the child painkillers (Ibuprofen, Paracetamol).
• 2-3 days after the intervention there may be redness around the scrotum. If it does not go away after 3 days, you need to show your baby to a doctor.
• To prevent re-accumulation of fluid, diuretics are prescribed.
• A month after the operation, you need to undergo a routine examination.

Possible complications

In most cases, operations proceed without complications. But sometimes they can manifest themselves as:

• bleeding;
• infectious infection;
• damage to the seminal ducts, which can lead to infertility;
• testicular atrophy due to disruption of the circulatory system;
• discomfort and pain in the groin area.

Hydrocele of the testicle in newborns most often develops due to reasons that acted during the gestation period. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully plan your pregnancy and treat infectious diseases in a timely manner. chronic diseases. And the boys should be with early childhood teach how to keep the genitals clean. This will protect against the development of hydrocele in the future.

Read more about hydrocele in boys in the following video:

Hydrocele, or hydrocele of the testicles, is quite common in newborns, occurring in approximately every tenth baby. In this case, the disease has different levels of severity. In medicine, dropsy is the accumulation of serous physiological fluid between the scrotum, leading to enlargement.

Description

Outwardly, this pathology resembles dropsy after surgery in adults. Often hydrocele in newborns can go away on its own, during the first year after the birth of the child, but there are also cases when this disease requires treatment. special treatment. In general, it does not threaten the baby’s life, but it is unpleasant because due to of this disease complications may arise.

Reasons for appearance

The main causes of testicular hydrocele in a newborn must be sought in the specifics of a woman’s pregnancy, when the embryo’s testicles descend to the scrotum from the abdomen.

All reasons are conventionally divided into two types:

1. Congenital. These are caused by the threat of miscarriage, pregnancy with pathologies, hereditary predisposition, smoking or drinking alcohol during pregnancy, and prematurity of the baby.
2. Acquired (more often observed among older children) - testicular diseases, pathologies of the heart and blood vessels, injuries during childbirth, postoperative or infectious complications.

But the causes of testicular hydrocele in newborns do not end there. Yes, you can a separate item highlight mechanical external factors, for example, damage to the scrotum, defects of the peritoneal wall, testicular torsion (twisting of the spermatic cord).

It must be remembered that the named pathology in infants cannot appear due to diapers, regardless of how they are used. For example, many people think that before fastening the boy’s testicles need to be lifted, however, this is a misconception that exists among inexperienced parents.

Signs of illness

During hygiene procedures, you need to be wary if a child, when touching the area of ​​the scrotum, experiences anxiety or begins to cry. He may also experience nausea and chills, and a fever. The baby suddenly becomes indifferent to external events and lethargic.

But the main symptoms are enlargement of one or both testicles and swelling in the groin area. During palpation of the testicles it is felt soft seal, shifting to the side. It usually looks like an hourglass, which indicates the accumulation of physiological fluid in the seminal canal.

It is important to remember that you cannot diagnose this disease yourself, although parents often neglect this advice. At the first symptoms of dropsy, you should immediately consult a doctor to avoid complications in the future.

Diagnosis of pathology in newborns

To make a diagnosis of hydrocele in a newborn, it is necessary to differentiate it from a groin hernia. So, in the latter case, when an intestinal loop penetrates the scrotum, a characteristic gurgling sound is heard during palpation. A hernia with no symptoms of strangulation slides and is quickly reduced into the groin canal.

A hydrocele can also shrink with pressure, but this happens slowly due to the flow of fluid into the peritoneal cavity. But a non-communicating hydrocele will not shrink with pressure. With hydrocele of the spermatic cord, a large fluid accumulation is detected at the site of its projection.

Diaphanoscopy

What to do for testicular hydrocele in newborns? First of all, a correct diagnosis must be made. To do this, diaphanoscopy is performed - transillumination of the testicle using a beam of light. For this purpose, special non-heating lamps are used. U clear liquid sufficient light transmission, and in case of accumulation serous exudate scrotum takes characteristic appearance: it is translucent, painted in yellow-red shades thanks to blood vessels and skin. more dense, so it does not allow liquid and light to pass through. In addition, transparency has low performance at purulent inflammation(pyocele) or testicular tumor (hematocele).

To confirm the diagnosis and obtain more accurate information about the condition of the abdominal vaginal process, how communication occurs with the peritoneal cavity, and what is the amount of fluid accumulated in the membranes of the testicle, the patient should undergo an ultrasound examination.

How to treat dropsy?

Hydrocele in a newborn is treated depending on the nature of the disease, the presence or absence of progress. Methods can be conservative if the pathology is declining or is in one phase. If the disease causes certain sensations of discomfort in the newborn, and fears in the doctor, then the intervention of a surgeon is required.

Surgery

Treatment of pathology in newborns is carried out in various ways. If the disease worsens over time, it is necessary surgical intervention. There are several types of it:

• The first option for such manipulation is the Ross operation, which is used for communicating dropsy.
• carried out under general anesthesia, it is characterized by excision of the membrane inside the testicle. A drainage is placed and a pressure bandages. This operation is quite serious and is used when the situation is truly very dangerous.
• During Lord's surgery, a testicle is removed into the wound, and the surgeon's manipulations are performed there. Performed under local anesthesia.

The characteristics of the disease and test results determine which method of surgical intervention is most appropriate in this case, the specialist will choose. It must be said that such surgical intervention is quite difficult for newborns, and therefore you need to be prepared that in the period after the operation there may be various kinds consequences, for example, disruption of the routine and habitual feeding, as well as weight loss and other unpleasant features.

Conservative methods

The famous children's pediatrician Komarovsky for hydrocele in newborns advises using conservative treatment. Currently, this is quite possible, but for this you need to know exactly what methods can be used at each specific stage.

In this capacity, massage, the use of ointments (Levomekol or Vishnevsky ointment) and other drugs can be used. All this should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. However, conservative treatment also consists of following a regimen proper nutrition, sufficient stay on fresh air. The baby may be prescribed various types of gymnastic manipulations that should be performed. If the dynamics are positive during a systematic examination by a urologist, it is quite possible that by the age of two the problem will be eliminated.

What other treatment is used for hydrocele in a newborn?

Treatment with folk remedies

With a comprehensive approach to solving the problem, you should definitely use the methods proposed traditional medicine. We list the most popular methods that are suitable for use with newborns:

• First and most widespread therapeutic method getting rid of dropsy in newborns involves washing the children's genitourinary system with a furatsilin solution. For this purpose it is necessary to dilute medicine with water in a ratio of 1:3, then rinse the genitals with a cotton pad.
• Another recipe, which also has a high degree of impact, is bathing the baby in a bath with the addition of a decoction of chamomile or string. This procedure not only benefits the skin by soothing it, but also gives good sleep and allows for disinfection of the genitourinary organs, thereby preventing the occurrence of infection.
• Together with milk, you can give one drop of decoction from oak bark, which will contribute to further improvements. Also, baths with the addition of calendula will greatly benefit your child. This plant is distinguished by its medical properties and quite useful. Before going to bed, you need to thoroughly wipe the baby’s genitals with Miramistin solution, after which you should ventilate them. The child should be left without diapers as often as possible and wet diapers should be changed.

This is a simple treatment for hydrocele in a newborn. folk remedies will give an opportunity if not full recovery, then at least slowing down the disease and creating conditions for it under which it will not progress. There are many folk ways and methods, but before using them on a baby, you must always consult with your doctor.

Possible complications

If parents recognize and treat hydrocele in newborns in time, its consequences will not be any serious. But if the visit to the doctor is postponed, then inflammatory processes of varying degrees of severity may develop. genitourinary system. In addition, the scrotum can greatly increase, while the testicle itself decreases several times.

The consequences of surgical intervention to rid children of dropsy may also have various complications. This mainly applies to those babies who have weak immune system, or there is a certain disease.

May appear the following complications:

• painful sensations after surgery;
• possibility of infertility;
• mild or pronounced testicular atrophy;
• defects of the reproductive system;
• return of dropsy.

Modern medicine in any case, capable of literally work miracles. If the operation was carried out correctly, then this will in no way affect the man’s ability to bear children in the future. Postoperative complications occur quite rarely. It must be remembered that with timely treatment of dropsy, the baby will be healthy, and parents will have no reason to worry.

With the birth of a baby, new mothers and fathers have a lot of troubles, and even more so if the child has health problems. Even with the maximum manifestation of love and care, it is impossible to insure newborns from illnesses, including life-threatening ones.

In particular, hydrocephalus of the brain in newborns may at first look quite harmless, but in fact, without treatment, this disease can lead to the most unpleasant and sad consequences.

Dropsy in the head in newborns, or hydrocephalus, occurs due to improper formation and outflow of cerebrospinal fluid ( cerebrospinal fluid). In the human body, this substance washes the tissue of the brain and spinal cord, flows between meninges and contributes to the uninterrupted implementation of nervous regulation, timely cleansing of metabolic products, maintaining normal intracranial pressure.

Liquor is transported through various structural formations, flows in the ventricles of the brain and through the “plumbing” connecting them, and then seeps into the vascular bed.

Any obstacle in this system (excessively active synthesis, impaired outflow, obstruction of the cerebrospinal fluid path) entails its accumulation and stagnation. Compression occurs structural parts brain in a newborn. And, despite the fact that the skull of infants is very elastic and does not have rigid bone joints, free space For nerve cells as the disease progresses, it decreases and some neurons die.

The consequences of such processes depend on the reasons for blocking the normal outflow of cerebrospinal fluid and the rate of progression of the pathology.

Causes of the disease

Most probable reasons hydrocephalus in a baby can be divided into two groups: those that affect the baby in the womb, and those that provoke pathology during or after birth.

Congenital hydrocephalus in newborns appears due to the influence of such factors:

• Infectious diseases that I have suffered from expectant mother during pregnancy (especially enterovirus infection Coxsackie, tonsillitis, herpes, measles).
• Congenital anomalies, defects in the brain and cerebral vascular system. Such defects may be a decrease in the lumen of the cerebral aqueduct, the presence of an arachnoid cyst, or a discrepancy between the size of the posterior fossa of the skull and the size of the structures that should be located in it.
• Rhesus conflict.

It is possible that a newborn develops hydrocele of the brain during or after childbirth.

Then its reasons could be:

1. Consequences infectious processes transferred by the fetus to early stages development.
2. Birth injuries to the skull, especially if forceps or other physical methods of removing the baby were used during delivery.
3. Brain tumors (meningiomas, papillomas) or tumors associated with the bones of the skull.

The risk of hydrocele increases under the following conditions:

1. Delivery occurred before 35 weeks.
2. Low birth weight of the child (up to 1500 g).
3. U expectant mother I had a narrow pelvis.
4. The course of labor was difficult and led to a lack of oxygen for the baby.
5. While carrying the child, the mother smoked or abused alcohol.

There is also a special reason for the development of hydrocephalus in newborns: brain atrophy. In this case, the fluid essentially replaces the place in the skull where the neurons should be. The cause of such changes is defects in embryogenesis and genetic predisposition.

Types of the disease and its symptoms

Depending on why, when and how hydrocele could occur in newborns, it is divided into the following forms:

1. By time of appearance: before birth (congenital), or acquired.
2. According to the characteristics of progression: acute (the period of decompensation is very short - up to 3 days), subacute and chronic (the condition worsens over 3-6 months).
3. By mechanism pathological process: open form(excess brain fluid in a newborn’s head does not have time to be absorbed into the vascular system, but all ducts are free) and closed (an increase in the volume of fluid in the cavities occurs due to blockage of the ducts).
4. According to the place of accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid: external (cerebrospinal fluid is mainly concentrated between the meninges), internal (stagnates in the ventricles) and mixed (it is impossible to identify the place of predominant accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid).
5. According to the severity of symptoms: compensated (despite the diagnosis established during the examination, external signs there are no illnesses) and decompensated (pronounced signs of illness appear).
6. According to the stability of manifestations: stabilized (symptoms do not increase over time), progressive (symptoms increase with deterioration of the condition) and regressive (symptoms weaken over time).

The peculiarity of the course of the disease in infants is that their heads still retain a certain ability to grow, because the bones of the skull do not yet have rigid joints. Therefore very important symptom dropsy is a large head circumference. Normally, at birth, it exceeds the breast volume by 1-2 cm, and by six months of age this ratio becomes reversed. If in a six-month-old baby the volume of the skull remains greater than the volume of the chest, the cause of this may be hydrocephalic syndrome in the infant.

Other symptoms of hydrocephalus

1. Veins are visible large vessels on the frontal, occipital and temporal areas scalp, the scalp is thin and shiny.
2. Children with this disease are more tearful and sleep worse than healthy babies, later they begin to hold their head, do not smile for a long time.
3. The fontanel, which has not yet had time to overgrow by this time, pulsates and rises above the surrounding bones of the skull.
4. The eyes seem deep-set; squint, drooping eyelids, and inability to keep the gaze on one point may develop.
5. The knees are bent and difficult to straighten.
6. Weak appetite and frequent regurgitation.
7. Indifferent behavior of the baby.
8. Trembling of limbs.

With intensive progression of the disease, more dangerous manifestations may develop:

• convulsions;
• drowsiness;
• loss of accumulated movement skills and basic communication;
• vomit;
• crying, in which the pitch and sound of the voice does not change.

If such alarms, this indicates sharp deterioration condition. Therefore, parents are urgently obliged to show their baby to doctors.

Diagnostics

When contacting a doctor with such complaints, to establish a diagnosis, the child is prescribed the following examinations:

• fundus examination;
• MRI of the head;
• neurosonography (ultrasound of the brain);

The neurologist determines the baby’s muscle tone and identifies the characteristics of the reflexes. It also compares the child’s head circumference over time.

In most cases, intracranial pressure is measured. After all the manipulations, you can draw conclusions about the optimal treatment methods and make a prognosis for the baby’s condition in the future.

As Dr. Komarovsky notes, overdiagnosis often occurs when in fact there is no dropsy. To avoid misdiagnosis, it is necessary to consult only qualified neurologists.

Ways to fix the problem

Dropsy of the brain is serious illness for the very reason that it affects the most complex area - the central nervous system.

Therefore, not treating a child with such a diagnosis is very dangerous, even if the disease is in the compensation stage, when there are no visible manifestations.

Treatment of hydrocephalus is mainly carried out surgically, but to relieve severe symptoms and inhibition of further progression, drug therapy is also used.

To drain cerebrospinal fluid, which is in excess quantities in the nervous system, two methods are used:

• Shunting. With this intervention, tubes and catheters are inserted under the baby’s skin, through which fluid from the skull is drained into other cavities of the body (peritoneum, right atrium, occipital cistern). This method is widely used, but it is characterized frequent complications, in which repeated surgery is required.
• Endoscopic operations. There are several types of them, the most popular is ventriculostomy. The surgeon inserts the endoscope through small incisions and expands natural ways outflow of cerebrospinal fluid. Unfortunately, such an operation is effective only for some forms of cerebral hydrocele.

If the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid is obstructed by a tumor, hematoma, or aneurysm of a vessel, then when favorable conditions such an obstruction is removed surgically.

Drug treatment is aimed either at reducing the rate of cerebrospinal fluid production, or at accelerating its absorption into the vascular bed and excretion from the body.

For this purpose, diuretics are used that increase plasma osmolarity, diuretic salt preparations, together with potassium preparations.

In addition, when high blood pressure In the skull, neurons work under critical conditions and therefore can die.

Therefore, it is advisable to prescribe drugs that protect them.

To increase the viability of such cells, it is prescribed special drugs and vitamins.

In cases where parents do not try to find out what is happening to the baby and do not take measures to eliminate the illness, the baby can suffer greatly, develop incorrectly, have speech defects, epilepsy, and lag behind peers.

IN difficult situations even possible comatose states and death. If the treatment is developed rationally and the parents follow medical instructions, the prognosis is favorable.

The birth of a child is always associated with concerns about his health. Parents are required to monitor very closely appearance, the behavior of your baby. Sometimes a disease such as hydrocele in boys occurs. If you suspect that the scrotum has an unnatural color or has increased in size, you should seek advice.

What is hydrocele in a child?

Hydrocele or hydrocele in a newborn occurs only in boys. The disease is characterized by the accumulation of an excessive amount of serous fluid in the membrane of the testicle, and the scrotum becomes noticeably larger (the manifestation can be unilateral or bilateral). It is diagnosed in 16 children out of 100; in the vast majority, the pathology resolves on its own and does not require treatment. Because of this, testicular hydrocephalus is called physiological hydrocephalus.

Causes of hydrocele

The occurrence of this physiological deviation can occur for a number of reasons. Doctors divide the nature of the development of the disease into two groups: acquired dropsy in children and congenital. The latter type includes the following factors:

• pathological pregnancy;
• birth trauma;
• peritoneal dialysis;
• increased intrauterine pressure;
• premature newborn;
• genetic factor passed on by inheritance.

The first type (congenital) most often includes factors that were formed as a result of diseases suffered by the boy:

• epididymitis - inflammation of the epididymis;
• inflammation of the testicles;
• cardiovascular failure;
• tumor formation of the appendages or testicle.

Mechanical factors that were obtained during or after childbirth can also cause the development of the disease in question in boys:

• cable twist;
• trauma to the scrotum area;
• disease lymphatic system;
• defect abdominal wall;
• complications after surgery.

What does dropsy look like in boys?

Regardless of the root cause of dropsy in a newborn external manifestations will always match. If you find even one of them, you must make an appointment with a specialist for an examination. Testicular pathology in children may look like as follows:

1. Swelling of the scrotum is the most main symptom formation of hydrocele in a child. It can be pronounced or barely noticeable. Sometimes it becomes smaller if the baby is placed in a horizontal position.
2. The groin area becomes painful and urination becomes difficult.
3. As a rule, there is redness in the area of ​​inflammation.
4. The swelling is pear-shaped, hourglass-shaped, round. To the touch - dense, elastic.

How does dropsy manifest itself in the testicles of a newborn?

For young parents, it is important to notice any deviations in the baby’s health in a timely manner. Dropsy in an infant has specific, characteristic signs that are not difficult to notice. Redness, swelling and painful sensations– the first symptoms of testicular hydrocephalus. This disease should be treated under the supervision of a surgeon or urologist. If the disease becomes more complicated, the newborn will develop following signs:

• chills;
• pain;
• nausea;
• redness of the scrotum (more pronounced);
• vomit;
• elevated temperature.

Types of hydrocele in children

There are two types of hydrocele in newborn boys: non-communicating (isolated) and communicating. The emergence of the latter type occurs according to the following reasons. When a boy is born, his testicles descend into the scrotum. When passing through the inguinal canal, they take with them a part of the peritoneum, which is also called the processus vaginalis. After this part overgrows, which prevents fluid from the cavity and organs from entering the area where the testicles are located. A hydrocele develops if the process is not overgrown and fluid leaks out, accumulating in the membrane.

Dropsy isolated type is formed when a certain amount of fluid enters the testicular area before the appendage heals. Due to a disruption in the suction mechanism, liquid accumulated in the cavity and remained there. This can also happen if the lymphatic system in newborns is disrupted and there is a malfunction in the absorption process. Because of this, a hydrocele occurs when serous fluid stagnates between the shells.

Diagnostics

As a rule, the disease is detected during a planned examination of a child at the age of one month, if the scrotal tumor has not reached a large size and the parents have not noted redness in the groin area. The following diagnostic methods are distinguished:

1. General inspection. The surgeon conducts an external diagnosis, palpates the swelling, after which he can make a preliminary diagnosis.
2. Ultrasound. Maximum exact method detection of hydrocele, provides an opportunity to look at the condition of the testicles, determine the amount of fluid, and check the appendages.
3. Diaphanoscopy, x-ray. These options are used much less frequently; as a rule, they can be carried out as helper method to confirm the diagnosis.

How is testicular hydrocele treated in newborn boys?

This diagnosis is not lifelong; there are effective methods hydrocele treatment. The feasibility of one or another option is determined by a specialist after necessary tests or inspection. Pathology in newborn boys can be removed as follows:

• puncture;
• surgery(operation);
• using folk remedies.

Waiting tactics

In this case, you just need to wait, because the appendix can heal on its own, stop communicating with the abdominal cavity and the movement and accumulation of fluid will stop. For this method No treatment is prescribed, because the birth defect can go away without medical intervention by two years. If the condition does not improve, the volume of excess fluid grows and causes discomfort to the child; a physician can remove it with a syringe. A urologist must monitor the course of the disease.

Puncture

The method is that under local anesthesia Fluid is removed from the cyst using a needle. The procedure does not relieve the newborn from hydrocele and has a temporary effect. The possibility of infection in the scrotum, which can lead to the development of purulent process. Puncture is used only in cases where it is necessary to get rid of a hydrocele, but for some reason the operation cannot be performed. Often resort to this procedure for intense hydrocele of the testicle.

To increase effectiveness, sclerotherapy can be performed after fluid has been removed from the cyst. Betadine or alcohol is injected into its cavity, which provokes a burn of the walls of the cavity from the inside and closes the lumen. This manipulation, as a rule, also provides only a temporary effect, and after its implementation some complications may appear.

Operative surgery

In many cases, hydrocele in newborn boys is removed through surgery. It can be carried out only when the baby reaches 2 years old; the procedure lasts 20-30 minutes. There are several options for performing the operation, which depend on the diagnosis, for example:

1. The Ross operation is prescribed to newborns with symptoms of a related type of disease. The hole through which the spermatic cord enters is excised.
2. Bergmann's operation is performed on newborns with isolated form hydrocephalus. The fluid-filled tunica vaginalis is excised. Areas that could not be removed are closed with sutures.
3. Lord's operation is also performed for isolated types of pathology. The vaginal membrane is corrugated, but the testicle is not removed into the wound.

IN postoperative period The doctor must prescribe the child a certain list of medications, which includes:

• painkillers;
• for prevention bacterial complications antibiotics are prescribed;
• to prevent re-accumulation fluids require diuretic medications.

Treatment of hydrocele with folk remedies

If the disease in a newborn is not in a progressive stage, you can use proven folk recipes. Please note that this is only an auxiliary tool and is not a panacea. real help capable only in the first stages or for prevention after drug treatment. You can use the following recipes:

1. Ointment for hydrocele in a newborn. Take the “Children’s” cream and mix it with calendula ointment in equal proportions. Before going to bed, rub it into the scrotum for a month.
2. Wash and chop the chamomile plants. Place the resulting pulp on a gauze cloth. Apply several times a day to the site of inflammation in the newborn (you can directly into the diaper).
3. Soak half a glass of peas in 500 ml of beer for two hours. Simmer over low heat for half an hour, then cool the resulting broth. Take a gauze cloth and soak it in the resulting product, apply it to the child’s sore spot for 20 minutes. This compress should be used 2 times a day for a month or until the scrotum begins to look better.

Video

Hello, dear parents! With the birth of a child, you have serious responsibility for his life, health and development. You need to be extremely attentive to your baby’s behavior and be prepared to solve various kinds of problems related to his health.

In some babies, from birth, doctors observe developmental pathologies that can lead to the formation of so-called dropsy. Dropsy, to make it clear to you, is an excessive accumulation of various types of liquid in any of the cavities of the human body.

Let's together try to figure out why dropsy occurs in newborns and what should you, parents, do in this case?

What types of dropsy occur in newborns?

To begin with, it must be said that in newborns two types of dropsy are most often observed:

• , fluid accumulates in the membranes of the testicles. As you understand, this dropsy can only occur in boys;
• dropsy of the brain or hydrocephalus, cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in excessive quantities in the ventricles of the brain. This type of dropsy can develop in children of both sexes.

Symptoms of dropsy in a newborn

With hydrocele there is:

• an increase in the size of one testicle or the entire scrotum;
• and dropsy can be like small size, and large enough (to reach the size of a pear);
• if the vaginal canal does not overgrow, or it is significantly larger size, an inguinal hernia may form - a prolapse of a loop of intestine into the scrotum.

With dropsy of the brain, the baby experiences:

• rapid increase in head circumference;
• increase in the size of the fontanel;
• the frontal part may be disproportionately enlarged;
• Veins are visible on the baby's face and head;
• the child is lethargic, apathetic, and may lag behind peers in psychomotor development;
• in a neglected condition, the newborn may often experience convulsions, drooping eyes, and atrophy of the bones of the skull.

Why does hydrocele occur in a newborn?

The main reason for the occurrence of hydrocele in a child is considered to be the unfinished process of development and overgrowth of the vaginal process. In this case, fluid enters from the abdominal cavity and accumulates in the area of ​​the testicle and scrotum.

Why didn’t this channel close up? This phenomenon is usually typical for premature babies. It’s just that the process of forming all the organs did not have time to finish, and the baby was already “in a hurry” to be born. Also, the cause could be a difficult pregnancy, illnesses suffered by the mother during pregnancy, or birth trauma.

Why does hydrocele occur in a newborn?

When there is excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricular cavities of the brain and disruption of its outflow pathways, it develops hydrocele in a newborn in the skull.

This type of dropsy may not appear immediately in children, but develops slowly. Or it may already begin to develop in the womb; usually, when examined by an ultrasound specialist, this disease can be diagnosed.

The cause of dropsy may be:

• developmental disorders nervous system child;
• intrauterine infection;
• malformation of the brain and spinal cord;
• birth injury, which could cause hemorrhage into the ventricles of the brain.

Treatment of hydrops in newborns

Regarding dropsy of the testicle in a newborn, we can say that in 80% of cases such dropsy can go away on its own by the time the baby is one year old. The vaginal canal completes its independent development, becomes overgrown, and the fluid resolves.

The disease itself, as a rule, does not cause any concern to the child and does not require treatment. Only careful parental monitoring of the development of dropsy. However, if you notice that the size of the dropsy is significantly increasing, you should urgently contact a specialist and may require surgical intervention.

Regarding hydrocephalus, here, too, little depends on you. Mandatory examinations by a neurosurgeon and strict monitoring of the child’s development are necessary. The only solution in treating a newborn is a special operation.

Of course, it will be difficult for you to decide on it, but otherwise you risk losing your baby. Hydrocephalus is a very serious disease and it will not go away on its own, no matter how much you and I would like it to.

And in conclusion, I would like to say that no matter how serious the baby’s health problems may be, you will definitely overcome them together.

Yes, you will have to go through these tests, but reassure yourself that babies develop quickly and most likely by the age of 2 or 3, your baby will definitely catch up with his peers.

Good luck and patience, and a speedy recovery for the baby!