Paediatric Surgery Clinic Online

Specialist assessment of common surgical conditions in children — hernias, scrotal problems, digestive questions and post-operative follow-up, with the parent present.

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Appointments in Swedish, English and Arabic
Evidence-based care
Written plan after every visit

About the clinic

Paediatric surgery covers surgical conditions in children from newborn to teenager — but it differs from adult surgery on one decisive point: many conditions that would be operated on in an adult resolve by themselves in a child, while others need considerably faster handling than you would think. Knowing which is which is the whole specialty.

We give the parent straight answers about what is normal childhood development, what can be watched, and what genuinely needs acting on — without dismissing the worry and without creating more of it.

Who we help

Parents whose child has swelling in the groin or at the navel
Parents wondering about their child's scrotum or testicles
Parents whose child has recurrent abdominal pain
Parents who want to discuss a planned paediatric operation
Parents who need post-operative follow-up
Parents with questions about circumcision on medical grounds
Parents who would like a second opinion on a paediatric surgical assessment

Symptoms

Conditions

Inguinal hernia in children
Umbilical hernia
Phimosis
Hydrocele (fluid in the scrotum)
Appendicitis in children — investigation support
Post-operative follow-up in children
Undescended testicle — follow-up

Services and examinations

History-taking with the parent and the child together
Assessment of hernia and scrotal problems
Post-operative follow-up
Second opinion ahead of planned surgery
Guidance on whether the child needs a physical examination or an emergency assessment

A physical examination is required for a secure assessment of most paediatric surgical conditions — we help you judge the urgency and the right level of care.

How it works

1Book and describe your main problem online.
2Upload previous results if you have them — test results, examinations, medication list.
3Video consultation — review of your history and targeted questions.
4A clear plan — next steps, any treatment, and a timeframe for follow-up.

What to prepare

A timeline of your symptoms (when it started, what triggers or relieves it)
Current medications and doses
Known allergies and previous illnesses
Previous test results and examinations, with dates if possible
Your three most important questions for the visit

Call your local emergency number immediately or go to the nearest emergency department if you have:

A hernia that is hard, tender and cannot be pushed back
Sudden severe abdominal pain in a child, particularly with vomiting
Sudden severe pain in the scrotum
A high fever after an operation
A markedly impaired general condition

Digital care cannot replace emergency services. If unsure, seek care immediately.

Our doctors

See available doctors and book an appointment

Frequently asked questions

Can you assess my child's hernia digitally?

We make a first assessment, but most hernias need to be confirmed with a physical examination.

Is an inguinal hernia dangerous in a child?

Usually not, but a hernia that becomes hard and painful is an emergency — see the safety box.

Can you follow up after a paediatric operation?

Yes.

Do all boys with an undescended testicle need an operation?

It depends on the age and the position; we help you with the assessment and guidance onwards.

Can you give a second opinion ahead of an operation?

Yes.

What happens after the appointment?

A written plan and guidance on the next step.

What do I do about sudden severe abdominal pain in my child?

Seek emergency care immediately — see the safety box.

Is anaesthesia dangerous for small children?

Modern paediatric anaesthesia is very safe. We are happy to go through your particular questions ahead of a planned procedure.

How do I know whether something is an emergency?

The safety box lists the clear signs. If you are in any doubt — seek care rather than not.

Can you assess whether my child needs an operation without a physical examination?

We give a first assessment and say clearly when a physical examination is required. Many paediatric surgical conditions can be followed over time, and that answer can often be given digitally.

Fifteen common conditions

Inguinal hernia in children

Typical age: Most common in infants and small children.
Background: A congenital opening that has not closed completely.
Symptoms: Swelling in the groin, often clearer when the child cries or strains.
What the doctor looks for: The character of the swelling.
Investigations: A physical examination is required for a secure assessment.
Diagnosis: Clinical examination.
Management: Surgery is usually recommended, often as a planned procedure.
Follow-up: According to the surgical plan.
Prognosis: Very good after surgery.
What you can do yourself: Note when the bulge shows — when the child cries, when straining, or all the time.
When should you book?: For every suspected hernia. For a hard, tender hernia — emergency care.

A hernia that becomes hard, tender and cannot be pushed back is an emergency — see the safety box.

Umbilical hernia

Typical age: Infants.
Background: Incomplete closure of the abdominal wall at the navel.
Symptoms: A soft swelling at the navel.
What the doctor looks for: The size, and whether it can be pushed back.
Investigations: Clinical examination.
Diagnosis: The clinical picture.
Management: Most heal on their own before school age; surgery where the hernia persists.
Follow-up: Regular follow-up of the size.
Prognosis: Very good; it often resolves by itself.
What you can do yourself: No tape and no pressure — it does not help and it can damage the skin.
When should you book?: For a hernia that persists after the age of four.

Phimosis (tight foreskin)

Typical age: Boys; common in small children and normal to a degree.
Background: The foreskin cannot be retracted fully.
Symptoms: Difficulty retracting the foreskin, sometimes difficulty passing urine.
What the doctor looks for: The degree and the age.
Investigations: Clinical examination.
Diagnosis: The clinical picture.
Management: Often nothing needs doing in small children; a cream or in some cases surgery where the problems are pronounced or persistent.
Follow-up: According to age and symptoms.
Prognosis: Very good; it often resolves with age.
What you can do yourself: Never force the foreskin back — it can cause splits and scarring that make things worse.
When should you book?: For problems passing urine, or recurrent infections.

Hydrocele (fluid in the scrotum)

Typical age: Most common in infants.
Background: A collection of fluid around the testicle.
Symptoms: Swelling in the scrotum, usually painless.
What the doctor looks for: The size, and whether it varies.
Investigations: Clinical examination.
Diagnosis: The clinical picture.
Management: It often resolves on its own during the first year of life; surgery where problems persist.
Follow-up: Regular.
Prognosis: Very good.
What you can do yourself: Note whether the swelling varies in size through the day.
When should you book?: For swelling that persists after the age of one.

Appendicitis in children — investigation support

Typical age: Most common in school-age children and adolescents.
Background: Inflammation of the appendix.
Symptoms: Abdominal pain that often moves to the lower right of the abdomen, fever, nausea.
What the doctor looks for: The pain pattern and the general condition.
Investigations: Requires emergency assessment in person.
Diagnosis: Requires a physical examination.
Management: Often surgery.
Follow-up: According to the surgical plan.
Prognosis: Very good with early treatment.
What you can do yourself: Do not give painkillers before the assessment where this is suspected — it makes the examination harder.
When should you book?: Where this is suspected, it is emergency care.

Suspected appendicitis is always an emergency — see the safety box.

Post-operative follow-up in children

Typical age: All childhood ages after surgery.
Background: Structured follow-up after a surgical procedure.
Symptoms: Varies; can include pain at the wound.
What the doctor looks for: How healing is progressing, and signs of infection.
Investigations: A review of the operation notes.
Diagnosis: Already known; this concerns follow-up.
Management: Wound care, pain relief where needed.
Follow-up: According to the surgical plan.
Prognosis: Good where healing is normal.
What you can do yourself: Photograph the wound daily for the first week — changes show up more clearly in comparison.
When should you book?: For redness, fluid or fever after an operation.

Undescended testicle — follow-up

Typical age: Boys; often picked up early.
Background: The testicle has not descended into the scrotum as expected.
Symptoms: An empty scrotum on one or both sides.
What the doctor looks for: The position and previous assessments.
Investigations: A physical examination is required.
Diagnosis: Clinical examination.
Management: Depends on the age, sometimes surgery.
Follow-up: According to the specialist plan.
Prognosis: Good where treatment is timed correctly.
What you can do yourself: Check in a warm bath — the testicles are pulled up more easily when the child is cold or tense.
When should you book?: If the testicle is not in the scrotum at six months of age.

Pyloric-stenosis-like feeding difficulties — investigation support

Typical age: Infants, usually in the first months of life.
Background: A narrowing at the outlet of the stomach that can cause forceful vomiting.
Symptoms: Forceful, “projectile” vomiting after feeding, poor weight gain.
What the doctor looks for: The feeding pattern and how the weight is developing.
Investigations: Requires prompt assessment in person.
Diagnosis: Requires a physical examination and usually an ultrasound.
Management: Surgery once the diagnosis is confirmed.
Follow-up: According to the surgical plan.
Prognosis: Very good after treatment.
What you can do yourself: Note whether the vomiting is forceful and comes shortly after feeding.
When should you book?: Promptly, for forceful vomiting in an infant under three months.

Forceful, repeated vomiting in an infant should be assessed promptly — see the safety box.

Anal problems in children (for example anal fissure)

Typical age: All childhood ages.
Background: A small split at the anal opening, often linked to constipation.
Symptoms: Pain and a little bleeding on opening the bowels.
What the doctor looks for: The link to constipation.
Investigations: The clinical picture.
Diagnosis: The clinical picture.
Management: Diet and softening measures.
Follow-up: If problems persist.
Prognosis: Good.
What you can do yourself: Softening the stool is the whole treatment — otherwise the pain creates a vicious circle of avoidance.
When should you book?: For blood on opening the bowels, or if the child is avoiding going to the toilet.

Hernia-related abdominal pain — guidance

Typical age: All childhood ages with a known hernia.
Background: Assessing when a known hernia is causing problems that need prompt care.
Symptoms: Pain, or a change in a hernia that was already known.
What the doctor looks for: The change compared with before.
Investigations: History, and comparison with the previous assessment.
Diagnosis: Usually requires prompt assessment in person where there has been a change.
Management: According to the findings.
Follow-up: According to the surgical plan.
Prognosis: Good with the right handling.
What you can do yourself: Check whether the hernia can be pushed back.
When should you book?: For a hard, tender hernia that will not go back — emergency care immediately.

Navel problems in newborns

Typical age: Newborns and infants.
Background: The navel is a common source of parental worry in the first weeks. Most problems — an umbilical granuloma, the cord stump taking its time to come away — are entirely benign, but an umbilical infection is one of the few situations where rapid handling is decisive in a newborn.
Common symptoms: A moist navel, a small red bud, foul-smelling discharge, or redness around the navel.
What the doctor looks for: Whether the redness is spreading from the navel out onto the abdominal wall — that is what separates benign from serious.
Investigations: Clinical assessment of the appearance.
How the assessment is made: From how far the redness extends and the child's general condition.
Management: Often just keeping it dry; a granuloma can be treated simply.
Follow-up: If there is no improvement.
Risk factors to know: Prematurity, a cord stump that takes longer than usual to come away.
Common misconception: That any moisture at the navel means infection. Slight moisture during healing is normal — spreading redness is not.
What you can do yourself: Keep the navel dry and clean; let the air get to it.
When should you book?: For redness spreading from the navel, fever, or if the child seems unwell — emergency care the same day.
Prognosis: Very good for the benign problems; good for infection if it is treated early.

Constipation as a surgical question

Typical age: All childhood ages.
Background: Constipation in children is almost always functional and is treated medically — but in rare cases, particularly where it began in the newborn period, there can be an underlying structural cause. Knowing the difference means neither over- nor under-investigating.
Common symptoms: Infrequent stools, hard stools, abdominal pain, sometimes soiling.
What the doctor looks for: When the problems began (from birth or later), growth, and whether the child had a delayed first stool after delivery.
Investigations: Clinical assessment; further investigation where it began in the newborn period or where growth is abnormal.
How the assessment is made: The onset and the course decide whether it is functional or needs investigating.
Management: Medical treatment in the great majority of cases.
Follow-up: Regular — constipation in children often needs a long course of treatment.
Risk factors to know: A delayed first stool after birth, symptoms starting before one month of age, abnormal growth, a distended abdomen.
Common misconception: That constipation resolves quickly. The treatment often takes months, and stopping too early is the most common reason it comes back.
What you can do yourself: Regular toilet times after meals; never turn going to the toilet into a conflict.
When should you book?: For constipation lasting more than two weeks, or if the problems have been there since the newborn period.
Prognosis: Good, but it requires persistence with the treatment.

Injuries and wounds in children

Typical age: All childhood ages.
Background: Wounds in children are very common, and most heal excellently. What decides the result is often the time factor — a wound that needs stitching should be dealt with within a few hours — and whether the wound is on the face, where the cosmetic result carries more weight.
Common symptoms: A wound, bleeding, swelling.
What the doctor looks for: The depth of the wound, whether the edges meet, the location, and the time since the injury.
Investigations: Clinical assessment of the appearance; an X-ray where an underlying injury or a foreign body is suspected.
How the assessment is made: From the character of the wound and the time since the injury.
Management: Cleaning; glue, tape or stitches depending on the wound.
Follow-up: If there are signs of infection.
Risk factors to know: Animal or human bites (a high risk of infection), dirty wounds, incomplete tetanus cover.
Common misconception: That all wounds need stitching. Many heal better with glue or tape, particularly in children.
What you can do yourself: Press with a clean compress for ten minutes without peeking, and rinse it clean with water.
When should you book?: For a wound that gapes, is on the face, or will not stop bleeding. For deep wounds or bites — the same day.
Prognosis: Very good, particularly where it is dealt with quickly.

Questions ahead of a planned paediatric operation

Typical age: All childhood ages.
Background: Ahead of a planned procedure, parents often have more questions than they have time to ask — about anaesthesia, pain, fasting times and how to prepare the child. Well-prepared children and parents have documented less anxiety and a smoother course, which makes this kind of appointment genuinely worthwhile.
Common symptoms: Not applicable.
What the doctor looks for: Which questions are unanswered, and whether the child has conditions that affect the procedure.
Investigations: A review of the planned procedure and the child's health.
How the assessment is made: From the procedure and the child's age.
Management: Not applicable.
Follow-up: Up until the day of the operation.
Risk factors to know: An ongoing airway infection (which can mean the procedure is postponed), asthma, previous reactions to anaesthesia in the family.
Common misconception: That you should avoid talking to the child about the operation so as not to frighten them. Age-appropriate, honest information reduces the anxiety considerably instead.
What you can do yourself: Explain it to the child at their level, in good time but not too far ahead — a few days for small children, longer for older ones.
When should you book?: Once you have a date for the operation and still have questions.
Prognosis: Not applicable — but good preparation gives a documented calmer course.

Testicular pain in boys

Typical age: Most common in the teenage years, but it occurs at all ages.
Background: Testicular torsion is one of the most time-critical diagnoses in paediatric surgery — the testicle can be lost after as little as four to six hours. At the same time, sudden testicular pain is a symptom teenagers often hold back from mentioning, which means the delay is often the patient's own. A parent knowing this can be decisive.
Common symptoms: Sudden, severe pain in one testicle, often with nausea; the testicle may sit higher than normal.
What the doctor looks for: How quickly the pain came on and how long it has been there — the time window is everything.
Investigations: Requires emergency physical examination and an ultrasound.
How the assessment is made: This is an emergency diagnosis that cannot be settled digitally.
Management: Emergency surgery.
Follow-up: According to the surgical plan.
Risk factors to know: Teenage age, previous episodes of pain that passed, a congenital anatomical variation.
Common misconception: That you can wait and see whether it passes. In testicular torsion every hour counts.
What you can do yourself: As a parent — tell your teenager that sudden testicular pain must always be mentioned straight away, without embarrassment. That information can save a testicle.
When should you book?: This is emergency care. For sudden severe testicular pain — an emergency department immediately.
Prognosis: Very good with surgery within a few hours; the risk of permanent damage rises quickly after four to six hours.

Contact

Book appointment info@medix7.com

The information on this page is general patient information and does not replace an individual medical assessment. Digital care has limitations and cannot handle emergencies — see the emergency box above. If you are unsure, contact healthcare services or your local emergency number.

About this content

This information draws on established Swedish clinical sources, primarily 1177 Vårdguiden, Internetmedicin and Läkemedelsboken. It is general patient information and does not replace individual medical assessment.