[url]http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=6219c084-1ede-4da9-843a-208585259a4c[/url]

"Babies and toddlers are waiting twice as long for hernia surgery than is considered safe, increasing the risk they will need urgent bowel surgery and may suffer damage to a testicle or ovary, a new study has concluded."

"They found the median waiting time was 35 days from the time of diagnosis to surgery."

"Children who waited more than 14 days had a doubled risk of "incarcerated" or strangulated hernia, in which a loop of bowel gets stuck in an opening in the abdominal wall.

If that happens, the bowel, over a period of hours, gets starved of its blood supply and the blood supply to the gonads - testicles or ovaries - can be squeezed off, causing damage or death to the tissue."

In one hospital alone in British Columbia, there are 75 babies waiting for just this kind of surgery. This is not even a 'quality of life' surgery like a hip replacement