My husband seems to have a belly button hernia that has been getting bigger for the last couple of years. This is not something he was born with. What causes this and what can happen if he doesn't get it looked at? It's very hard to get him to see a doctor.

belly button (umbilical) hernias are fairly common. Adults who get them probably had a little hole there from birth. The hole is where the umbilical cord passed through the muscle of the abdominal wall; it's supposed to close completely after birth, but often doesn't. The danger of any hernia is that whatever protrudes through the hole can become stuck and have its circulation cut off (strangulation). With an umbilical hernia, unless it's huge, what protrudes is a glob of fat, so even if it were to strangulate, it's not very dangerous. So if a person has an umbilical hernia and it doesn't bother him enough to want it fixed, it's generally ok to leave it alone. On the other hand, the surgery to fix it is simple, safe, not very painful, and is done as an out-patient procedure. Depending on size and exact type of repair, there usually doesn't need to be much time off work.