Advice Re Hydrocele & Surgery

Hi D.,
I am a RN and work in a recovery room of a surgery center.. We do that procedure on kids pretty often.. Every place is different, so they may or may not give him medication to relax him before the procedure.. When he wakes up he may be sleepy, might be confused and need to be reminded that the procedure is over.. He should be comfortable b/c they usually put local in to numb the area, but if he is in pain the staff will medicate him.. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message (I'm not familiar w/ the procedure itself, just pre and post op)
Good luck!

You mentioned that you like to do things kind of naturally, so here's what I found in a book called "Smart medicine for a healthier child". When your son begins to eat again it said to start slowly and offer clear liquids, such as broth, apple juice, and herbal teas. It says to work up slowly to a full diet to give the child's gastrointestinal tract time to readjust to food. Stick to high-fiber foods and offer plenty of liquids to help your child avoid becoming constipated. Constipation can aggravate the wound and interfere with healing. Vitamin C will help decrease inflammation and repair tissues. Vitamin E is an antioxidant as well as mildly anti-inflammatory. To help speed tissue healing Zinc. I would check out the book for more info. Good luck

Hey D.,

My husband had a Vasectomy, which is similar, NOT QUITE the same and he is NOT a child BUT,

Make sure you use snug Tighty Whitey underwear.NOT boxers
so that his jewels LOL aren't moving around alot,

loose pants like sweats with lots of room in the crotch.

And pray for rain,

I would say Video games, will keep him busy, and i know you might not want him to use them, but it one thing that will keep him still, also the computer,

rent videos for the evenings,

NO SUGARY snacks,or drinks, because it will give him an energy boost.

I would say he should be feeling better in 4-5 days,
Just rinse the site, DO NOT bathe him it makes the tapes fall off faster. and kids are pretty dirty so are tubs, so it could honestly cause infection.

in 2 weeks your child will feel like normal,but you still need to monitor him and make sure he isn't doing any rough housing, lifting and things that could injure the area.

I would give him Tylenol COLD instead of just Tylenol for the first few days, it will make him a bit drowsy, but I think in this particular instance its in his best intrest. But thats up to you. And the Doctor.

Good luck D..

M

D.,

My son had that surgery done when he was about 18 months. My husband just thought he was a very manly little boy, but it turned out they thought it was a hernia..after the surgery the surgeon came out and said it was only a hydroseal. It was a very easy recovery for him, in fact he was running around the yard the same day.

As for the incision, he had a one inch incision above the groin that was closed with internal stitches and then that surgical glue. There is absolutely no scar now. I know that he was much younger than your son, but I would hope that your sons recovery would be that easy too. 4 weeks is a long time to be laid up. My daughter had surgery last spring at 2 years old and she couldn't walk for 6 weeks after. I remember that she watched a lot more TV than we would typically allow, read a lot more books than I would normally read to her, and got a lot better treatment from her siblings for 6 weeks! If you give him all the things he couldn't normally have, he'll love it!

If he is typically very active and likes sports, see about vidoes or magazines that feature his favorite sport. Ask him to "read" to his little sister (I don't know if he can read yet). Play a game of twister with your husband and let him call out the colors and body parts (wait a minute, he might start laughing so hard he pops a stitch!). If he likes crafts or art then you will have an easy time of it. I'm sure it will go faster than you think it will.

Let me know if you have any more questions about our experience with this surgery. I have been through 3 surgeries with my children so far and every time it is very scary. It is easier on them than it is on us! This should be a pretty straightforward surgery, so try not to worry too much mom! (Easier said than done, I know!)

D.