Hydrocele in children: indication for operation and surgical technique

Hydroceles in children less than one year old should only be treated surgically when discomfort occur, as spontaneous remission is to be expected in this age group. Surgery is nearly always indicated in older children. In a consecutive series of 83 children operated for hydrocele, a follow-up study found a 2% recurrence rate, after an average of 5 years observation, despite the ligation of the processus vaginalis at the anulus inguinalis profundus. In that only 7% of the children developed a contralateral hydrocele, routine exploration on this side is deemed unnecessary.