Infant Surgery

It's so scary when your baby has surgery, I know! But everything will be fine!! My oldest had surgery when he was 13 months old...I don't really want to get into what was done, but they had to rearrange skin. It was pretty involved. He also had tubes in his ears when he was 18 months old...which isn't a big deal, but I bawled when they put him under. He is perfectly fine! They're real troopers when they're little.

My friend's baby had to have surgery for pyloric stenosis (he was constantly throwing up and was always in pain) when he was like 2 months old. It's so scary, especially the younger they are, but he is perfectly fine too.

The doctors are skilled and will do everything they can for your daughter!! She'll be just fine! As for what to tell your son, if he's only 3, the simpler the better I think. Maybe say she has an owie on her eye and the doctors are going to fix it. If he has more questions, go from there.

Good luck!!

my son was a month and a half old when he had to have a trach put in. that was very scary but of course he did well. and then over the next two years he had to have different minor surgeries done to check his airways. i know surgery on a baby is scary but i had a great support team at home with all of both families and that was that best to have to keep my nerves in check!! good luck!!

Everything will go FINE G.. I myself had that exact type of surgery/condition as an infant and that was way back in 1968. Medical technology is far more advanced now and so I don't think there is anything to stress yourself over here. It's your precios baby girl, so that's tough to do (keeping calm). They "will" tell you that there is a risk for "this or that" and you'll be tempted to be worried and I KNOW this as my own baby (now 7 months old) was "put under" and had another type of eye surgery just last month. Stress will only hurt things.
Try to remain calm and trust your medical staff. They legally have to tell you the risks. They do not do that to worry you.
That stats are SO low for complications with this type of surgery. Good luck and Happy Holidays. M.

My daughter had surgery when she was I believe 1 and a half. She had a lumpectomy and a biopsy done due to a big lump on the back of her neck. From what I went through, I definitely believe it's harder for the parents then it is for the child having the surgery. My daughter was up (trying) to run around within an hour if not less. We didn't even stay at the hospital that day cuz she was just fine. They told me she might have to stay the night but after they saw her she was totally fine. Obviously you're gonna be worried but I'm sure things will be just fine.

Good luck!!!

I haven't experienced this, I just wanted to say good luck! It's has to be so hard to see your child in pain. My thoughts and prayers are with you! Keep your chin up.
L.

Hi G.,
My youngest son (now 1 year) had surgery last year. He only had tubes put in his ears, so it wasn't quite as drastic, but he was a total trooper. I was nervous, of course, about him being put under, but the doctors did a great job. Are you having it done at Children's? We were there, and highly recommend it.

I'm also in Hartland, and have a 3.5 year old boy and a 1 year old boy. We have 1 dog as well.

C.

Hi G....best wishes for a flawless procedure!

A good friend of mine's son just went through corrective surgery (cleft palate). This is his first of three surgeries. He's 5 months old and did very well. For the most part, pediatric physicians are very conscientious about baby pain and very maticulous when performing procedures.

As far as your 3 1/2 y.o. I'd only answer questions he asks and keep the answers short and simple. You might want to tell him that mommy will be at the doctor over night with his baby sister and that she may have band aids on her boo boo's for a while, but she'll be just fine. Something like that. Just so he's not shocked when he see's her.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

Try not to worry too much, although it's really hard not to. My daughter hasn't had surgery but she's had many MRI's and things like that because she's special needs. She has been put under for them and always did great.
I would just tell your son that she is going to the Dr. and that she's going to be just fine. Kids have vivid imaginations and you'd hate for him to get all worked up about it.
Best Wishes,
J.

one of my daughters has had several laser surgeries for a port wine stain birthmark. she had to be anesthesized for the procedure. what they typically do before administering the anesthesia is give her a medication called versed - it's a mild sedative, and tends to make kids a little loopy. Cassidy is very funny on versed - sort of like a little drunkard. It makes her sleepy and a lot calmer when they take her back to anesthesia (and away from mama). During the surgery they will monitor her breathing, heart rate, all that stuff to make sure she's okay. After surgery, you can expect her to be sleepy and a little disoriented, possibly cranky. They will keep you and her there for a while to make sure she's recovering from anesthesia well. You should get prepped about all this before the surgery actually takes place - patient education is a priority before surgery, and especially before you sign a consent form. Make sure you ask if you have any questions at all - even if you think it's a "stupid" question, your nurse will be (or at least should be) happy to answer any questions and make sure you are comfortable with what is happening to your daughter. Good luck!

Hello,two of our boys had surgery on their penises (hypospadious repair)one at 10months and the other at 5months old. Since then they have both also had revisions done (age 3 and age 12 months) We had them done at two different hospitals. We have found that the people that take care of these little ones really are great. If you have any questions or concerns they are pretty patient. Ours did well with anestiesia. Just hold her when she finally wakes up. A familiar face and smell will really help. One thing I would recomend is asking for a bucket or bringing one for the car ride home. Sometimes they get a little green.
As for telling your older child. Just tell him that his sister is going to get her eyes fixed and that she will be just fine. Stay calm and she wont worry.
Take care,
A.

Surgery is always a scary and stressful for anyone no matter what age. My daughter who is now 5 had surgery at 3 months. She had a cist growing underneath her spinal cord which was causibng her spinal cord to tear. We were at Children's Hospital in Milwaukee for 5 days. It was very hard for me to see her just lay there. Especially since babies kick all the time they had to keep her sedated so that she wouldn't move. To this day she of course has no recollection of it except for the scar on her back and the annual dr. appts. I don't know how long your child will have to be in the hospital but to make it more comfortable for her and you make sure you bring anything that she is attached to (blanket, toy) and bring something to keep you busy (Magazine, puzzles, crotchet. Children will surprise you with how quicly they bounce back. You will have to tell your 3 yr old what is going on and that he will have to be more gentle with your daughter but dont exclude him from anything. I wish you and your family the best of luck and I will keep you in my prayers.

I HAVE BEEN THREW SURGERY WITH MY SON WHO IS NOW ALMOST SIX. HE WAS 3 MONTHS OLD AND HAD TO HAVE SURGERY FOR CLEFT LIP. THE SURGERY WENT FINE, AND IT WAS ABOUT 2-3 HRS.AND MY SON WHO IS NOW 7 1/2 HAD SURGERY WHEN HE WAS 11 MONTHS, I MUST SAY THAT I WAS SO NERVOUS THAT EVERYTHING WOULD GO OK, AND YOU THINK OF EVERYTHING THAT CAN GO WRONG, WHICH IS SO NORMAL. THE PREP FOR SURGERY THEY USUALLY GIVE THEM MEDICINE THAT RELAXES THEM, DEPENDING ON THE CHILD.YOU JUST SIT IN A ROOM AND WAIT FOR A LITTLE WHILE THEY USUALLY PUT THE IV'S IN IN THE OPERATING ROOM.SO THERE IS NO FUSS WITH THAT. IT WAS KIND OF LIKE A REGULAR DOC APPT. WHEN MY KIDS HAD THERES. EXCEPT THEY HAD THOSE LITTLE GOWNS ON. I KNOW IT IS SCARY FOR YOU I HAVE BEEN THERE, BUT AS WITH MOST SITUATIONS THINGS GO FINE AND WE CANT BELIEVE HOW NERVOUS WE WERE WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE. AS FAR AS TELLING YOUR SON WHAT IS GOING ON EXPLAIN IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO, AND WHAT SHE MIGHT HAVE TO WEAR ON HER EYES ETC. AND LET HIM KNOW THAT HE CAN HELP TAKE CARE OF HER WHEN SHE COMES HOME,THEY ARE USUALLY HAPPY TO DO THAT.I AM SURE THINGS WILL GO WELL.

My son had surgery to remove part of his lung when he was 6 months old. As scary is the whole situation was, we were blessed to have so many members of our family with us in the waiting room and after he was out of recovery - to keep our minds busy and keep our spirits up. Hopefully the surgery is taking place at Children's - they have a great orientation program to help explain everything to you & your child. I appreciated their explaining what he'd go through on the day of his sugery. Once the the surgery was done, the surgeon came out & talked to us about what he'd done & how our son was doing - they helped calm us as completely as possible.

Even though we couldn't hold him for the first two days after his sugery, I was comforted by the fact that we could stay in his room 24/7. Ask your surgeon/nurses about a drug called Torridal (sp?) - it's SO much better for little ones than other major pain meds - you'll be able to tell a difference right away that she'll be more alert & not seem so "drugged up" with this med.

In my opinion, I'd tell your son about the surgery in words you know he understands, without a ton of details to scare him. I just think kids understand more than we give them credit for, and not explaining to him why you & your husband will be spending lots of time at the hospital with his sister may scare him more.

Best of luck with everything!

Hi G.,

Since your child is so young, they will likely not have you in the room when they sedate her - that was our experience, anyway. Our son was 4 months old when he had a circumcision revision and the Dr's came to the waiting room and took him from us and he was fine with that. It really wasn't too scary and they made us feel very comfortable. Later on when he had another surgery for an undescended testicle when he was a little over 2 years old, we were in the room with him when he was sedated. That can be a scary experience for you, just to warn you. When they put the mask over their face to have them fall asleep, our guy didn't like it too much and had to be held tightly for a few minutes which made me feel sad. Also when they do drift off, they twitch a little which can be scary if you don't know what to expect.

Our daugter was about 4 when our little guy had his last surgery. She didn't really understand much or really care much about what was happening. She knew to be gentle with her little brother but other than that everything was pretty normal. You will find that these kids of ours are so resilient and likely the day after her surgery, she'll be acting as if nothing had happened at all. So, you will have to be careful and follow her around to make sure she doesn't hurt herself. We found that to be the hardest part!

Good luck and I'm sure your little one will do great!

My daughter had surgery a few months before her 3rd birthday for her eyes. It was very stressful waiting for her to come back. I had to bring her into the hospital early and they got a weight on her and had me change her clothes. then we waiting in a kids waiting room until the nurse came to get her. Then it was just waiting from there on. After the surgery my daughter was very tired for awhile and slept for a bit. Before we left she had to have a bit to eat(popsical) and something to drink and keep both down. Her eyes were also blood red for 3 weeks or so. She has been doing great ever since. After the surgery people (and kids) were alittle afraid of her because of her eyes but after you explain then they are better. For a child i explained that something was wrong with her eyes and the doctor fixed it and it will be red for a little bit. after awhile my daughter loved to explain that the doctor fixed her eyes.
I hope this helps a little bit. good luck

The thing I was not prepared for was how bloody looking my son's eyes were for quite a long time. He is turning 6 and had this done when he was 18 months old so it was a long time ago. I just remember him not having any white around his pupils - only red. It was hard at first but he wasn't in any pain or anything. The other thing I remember is having to get used to his eyes looking straight forward! He was much older than your daughter so we had known him cross-eyed for longer (his was really just one eye). I remember calling the nurse and saying his eyes looked all "googly". It's funny to me now but at the time I thought something was wrong :).

This may sound like weird advice but make sure you have good pictures of her with her eyes like this because you will regret it if you did. I tried to have my son's photographer pose him in such a way that you wouldn't be able to tell his one eye crossed and he gave me this advice. He's right. I treasure those portraits because I can see how far my big boy has come!

My daughter had surgery to have her thyroid removed when she had just turned 3. I was really scared but the doctors reassured me everything would be fine. I stayed with her until they took her into the OR and my husband actually got to stay with her until she was asleep. The nurses kept me informed of the progress while she was in the surgery. She recovered very quickly after the surgery. She was actually playing later that evening. Your daughter will do wonderful!

G. -

Best wishes! Heidi was 5 when she had day surgery to remove her adenoids and Megan was 3. The nurses at the hospital were wonderful. The nurses took charge of explaining what they were going to do using all the right words, as I never thought how to prepare her for an IV, but I didn’t have to because they did such a great job!!! During her recovery she sleepily watched a Disney video and was happy because she had lots of ice cream!!

My now 6 yr old daughter had about 5 surgeries for club foot, she was born with, she had to be in a cast since she was born, and I was a single mom at the time.
It had to be the hardest thing I have experinced being a mom, I admit I lost it at time, I felt like I wasn't strong enough, and I really leaned on family and friends for support, so I hope you have a great support system as well.
I guess when i was at the Children's Hospital and seen other cases, I became bery grateful, that my daughters was corrective, and after she under went all these surgeries she would be healthy and it would be over, there are children I witnessed that lived in the hospital and it was something they would live with for the rest of thier lives!! It really was a wake up call how lucky I was to have 2 healthy children, that made me alot stronger.
It was hard to watch her get put under and rolled away, but just try to look at the big picture, it is a small time in her life, and it is for the best.
Hang in there!

G.

My 10 month old had cleft lip and has cleft palate. She has been been in for surgury 2 times now. The prep is harder on you because of the no eating or drinking before surgery and because most hospitals take the baby before they go to sleep. You will be nervous most likly while she is in surgery - I know I was. But they will call and update you during the time. After surgery she will be pretty out of it, it takes a while for the drugs to wear off. ( good thing - but kinda scary) It will go great so try not to worry too much. You can tell your son that she is going to have some ouchies but they will get bewtter and she will be happier after its all done.