Herniated Belly Button

There are all kinds of Hernias.
A hernia is a "hole" in the abdominal wall, from which an organ or intestine may be sticking out of that hole. Hence, it "bulges" and looks like a lump.

My daughter had a Hernia.
And had to have surgery.
It is not something that is "removed." It is the hole, that is surgically closed up.
So I'm not sure what you mean by the "PCP suggests having it removed...."
My daughter had general anesthesia, had a Pediatric Surgeon who specialized in children and Hernias. And her surgery was Laproscopic.
And she was fine.
She had her surgery at 7 years old and was a champ about it.
Recovery after, is per post-surgery instructions. And yes, if a child does not lay off of heavy activity right after, then the sutures can split etc. and open up again or tear. Like with any surgery. My daughter was fine after, we followed post-op instructions, I sent typed-out instructions to school for her Teacher, per her refrain from certain activities or heavy lifting etc., and it was fine. ALL the kids, helped her. Once she was able to go back to school.

DO not, poke at it.
It is a Hernia.
It is and can get, worse.
That is why my daughter had to have surgery for her's.

My nephew had his umbilical hernia fixed when he was about 3 or 4. He was home by mid afternoon and on the floor playing with his toys by dinner time. (he's now in his late 20's)

I think many people (my hsuband included) get freaked out when they hear that their child will be "put out". Realize that there are many different levels of anesthesia - and for a quick procedure like this the anesthesia is "twilight" (similar to the type used to extract impacted wisdom teeth) - then via injection the area is numbed with a local anesthesia (like a novocaine shot). (It's nothing like the anesthesia they use for abdominal surgery or heart surgery - not even close.)

It may take a couple of weeks for your son to be 100% - but he will be 80% by the end of the day and 90% by the next day. Kids are such fast healers since their bodies are "new". This is a much bigger deal for you than it is for him and if you reflect fear he will pick up on it. They have kids books regarding simple hospitalizations - there was a Franklin (the turtle - do they still run that animated show?) book when my kids were little that was cute and calmed any fears.

Getting his hernia fixed now is important to avoid a bigger procedure in the future. You can do it mama.

My cousin's DD had to get hers done when she was 3.5. It started growing, so there was no choice to put it off.

She was down for maybe 3 days, then back to her regular self. It was actually worse for her mom, who had to remind her not to overdo things and keep her calm, than it was for her to recover from the surgery. Lol.

My son had his herniated belly button repaired when he was under 2 yrs. old. He did have to have anesthesia, but it was an outpatient procedure. I was nervous, but felt confident enough with the doctors to go ahead and have it removed. His was the size of a golf ball! I was glad that I let them remove when he was young. My son is now 11 years old and he would be much more afraid to now if he knew he had to have surgery. He also would have felt uncomfortable around the pool during the summer months, and perhaps been teased by some kids. His twin sister's belly button only protruded a little bit, and the doctors said she didn't need any surgery. Good luck K. E. I highly suggest getting it done now. He'll be fine.

I had mine done right when I turned 4. I remember my parents in awe that I was home dancing around that night ( and that was more than 30 years ago). I would do it sooner rather than later. The younger a kid is the faster it seems they heal.

My grandaughter had an umbilical hernia. It went away without surgery before she was 5.

I would want to know why the doctor is suggesting surgery now instead of waiting another year. Perhaps the doctor knows another year won't matter and he'll need the surgery why not get it over with? Or if waiting won't hurt, then you could wait and see even if it appears now that it won't change.

As to the surgery, ask more question until you're more comfortable with it.