Leung, Phoebe, Stalewski, Harry, and Carroll, Daniel (2023) General Surgery in Childhood. In: Carroll, Daniel, Stalewski, Harry, and Rathnamma, Bhanu Mariyappa, (eds.) Paediatric Surgery: Clinical Practice in Remote and Rural Settings, and in Tropical Regions. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, pp. 77-97.

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Abstract

For the purposes of this chapter it is convenient to divide patients into different groups, as an understanding of the common presenting features of each condition is often helpful in establishing the correct diagnosis. Surgical problems often present as emergencies and in an unplanned fashion. Acute appendicitis is the most common surgical cause of patients presenting with acute abdominal pain. The common presenting features are of malaise and decrease appetite with associated abdominal pain and often vomiting. CT scanning is more accurate than Ultrasound scanning (USS) with reported sensitivity and specificity of around 95%. During early fetal development, the primitive umbilical ring forms on the ventral surface of the fetus between the 4th and 5th weeks of fetal life. Unfortunately, it is difficult to ascertain the true rate of complications in patients with untreated umbilical hernias as there is significant selection bias in the published data.

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