What type of surgery should I choose for a pediatric hernia?

Patient: Hello Dr. Ma! Seeing the positive feedback on the Internet, even if I have not seen you in person, but from your reply, I can feel that Dr. Ma's medical ethics is very high, is a really good doctor. China lacks doctors like you. My son is now 1 year and 4 months, one night last month, suddenly crying, peeing, found that the left side of the scrotum swollen thumb size, to the hospital and realized that it is a "hernia", by the doctor to reset, after going home without any symptoms. The next day and immediately went to the Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital, the doctor told to go home and observe, said the incarceration immediately to the hospital; medical records written "elective surgery". During this month, it may have fallen to the scrotum 3 times; usually when I exert myself, the left groin will bulge; when I lay the child down flat and raise his feet, it will still go up; therefore, now I try not to let the child cry and exert himself, while the child is in the period of activity, which is too restrictive of his activities. I would like to ask: 1. Is it appropriate to do the surgery at 1 year and 4 months? How will the child get through the time when he needs to be fasted and dehydrated before and after the surgery? After the surgery, does he need to lie in bed, which he can't seem to do? 2. I asked some doctors in Changsha, most of them said they would take traditional surgery; and from the Internet, it seems that laparoscopic and traditional methods have their own advantages and disadvantages; during the surgery, laparoscopic seems to be not as clear as traditional surgery. Not considering the economic aspect, which kind of surgery is better in the end? 3. Is minimally invasive surgery laparoscopic? It's a bit vague. Thank you, Dr. Ma. Shenzhen Children's Hospital Neonatal Surgery Department Ma Xiaopeng: Hello! Hernias are usually treated conservatively within one year of age due to the possibility of self-healing. However, if the hernia continues to worsen, there is no possibility of self-healing, then surgery is needed. The age when we usually do the most surgery is around 1-2 years old. If the small intestine herniates into the scrotum and does not become incarcerated, it does not have to be pushed back every time. In some cases, the hernia ring is very large and the small intestine is usually in the scrotum, so as long as it does not become incarcerated, it does not affect the child in any way. However, if the hernia has become incarcerated, it is necessary to operate as soon as possible, because sometimes the hernia becomes incarcerated, not every doctor can reset the hernia by manipulation, it is difficult to reset the hernia if the hernia is too tightly jammed and it is very risky to reset the hernia, if the reset is too forceful or the manipulation is not done correctly, it can cause rupture of the intestines, which will cause the child a lot of pain. Specifically for your child is already more than a year old, and hernia and incarcerated, or suggest that you early surgical treatment, the child is just walking, the best time to move; laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery is the most important feature of the injury is small, fast recovery, the operation through the fiber-optic mirror can be seen in the image transmitted to the monitor and can be enlarged, the operation can be avoided to avoid damage to the vas deferens and spermatic cord blood vessels, more than the traditional surgery! It is much clearer than traditional surgery. There are only three very small wounds on the stomach, which can be glued with medical glue, and the wounds are almost invisible in the future. In addition, laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery for hernia has another advantage that cannot be replaced by traditional surgery, which is that the opposite side can be explored at the same time to see if there is also a potential hernia on the other side and can be operated on at the same time, which avoids the situation that after a hernia on one side is done and after about six months, the hernia on the opposite side has flared up again, and then the patient has to be hospitalized again for another operation. The cost is more than a thousand dollars more than traditional hernia surgery.