Treat Swine Flu – how to treat swine flu and health tips

By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

Charlie Toward was born with a hernia in his groin.

His parents knew he needed surgery to remove the lump, but were advised to wait until after his first birthday when he was stronger to cope with the open surgery.

Charlie needed a hernia operation

However, last month, aged only seven months, Charlie was able to have keyhole surgery – thanks to the donation of some special baby equipment to The Royal London Hospital where he was treated.

His mother Lizzie, from Essex, said Charlie was back to normal in no time.

“Charlie’s recovery was amazing,” she said.

“He was sleepy the next day but was pretty much rolling around and playing around – you would not have known he had an operation.

“He could not jump around in his jumpy toys but he could play in his activity gym.

“I was amazed by how quickly he recovered. You can hardly see any scarring, they have done an amazing job. The operation took about 40 minutes.”

Transforming surgery

Paediatric consultant surgeon Niall Jones, a gastrointestinal specialist at The Royal London Hospital, said it was one of the few hospitals able to offer the treatment to such young children because of the tailor-made keyhole surgical equipment. Read more…