bulging umbilical cord

Question
Hello Again Jessica,
I wrote to you last year about Jason, my cat that had that neurological situation...well, he's perfectly fine now...they never did figure out what was wrong, but the antibiotics and prednisone did the trick.
okay, new question.  i found a teeny tiny baby kitten recently, and it seems like the place where is umblicial was is bulging out a bit...i mean it's not opened or anything..the site is healed completely, but when you see him from the side, you can tell it hangs down a bit?
is this normal? i haven't brought him to the vets yet, because he's really too small for shots..and i was wondering what you thought in the meantime. he seems perfectly fine and very healthy otherwise...i'd say he's 4-5 weeks old.
thanks again!!!

Answer
Hi Lisa!  I'm so happy to hear Jason is doing well.

As for this little guy, it sounds to me like an umbilical hernia.  Relatively common, rarely ever serious.  There is an opening between the abdominal muscles that allows tissue to slip through.  This should, however, be corrected, because if it's left there, it can worsen and cause pain and other complications over time.  

Usually, the hernia is fixed at the same time that the cat is neutered; about 4-5 months old is ideal.  The vet will make a small incision over the umbilical area.  The protruding tissue is pushed back into place, and then sutures or staples are used to close the abnormal opening in the abdominal muscles.  Then, to close the skin, 4 or 5 dissolvable may be used, which will degrade after about 10 days.  Vets rarely use sutures that need to be physically removed for umbilical hernia repair.  In fact, some vets don't use stitches at all.  Surgical glue is becoming more and more popular as a means to close small incisions like these.

Best wishes!

Jessica