4 yr old eye surgery

[iheartdisney]

Hello all. My DD4 is having eye surgery next week for her nystagmus (not spelled right!) I have no clue how to tell her, or prepare her. All the paperwork I've read describe it as an outpatient procedure, and that children are usually back to normal the next day. Does anyone have any experience with this type of age group or eye surgery in general?

 

[jlbower79]

Take Care

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Not with that age group now, but in the past, but I would think there would be someone at the hospital to help you with preparing her and to answer your questions like a social worker and I would investigate that.

Will she be having anesthesia because if so you will be talking to an anesthesiologist?

My DD at 4 had oral surgery, not the same thing, but this was my experience....I found that the anesthesiologist wanted to talk in front of my daughter, I did not want that, so we went somewhere else and my husband stayed with her. It was a pretty big operation and suffice it to say she was fine......and now it is history as she is 29.. They did it day surgery and she went to a recovery room.. the ride back from the hospital was a bit scary as she did sick from the anesthesia.. something they did not prepare me for. The other thing was she was in pain and they sent her home without pain medication as she was a child and of course they do not feel pain, wrong. I sat with her little face in my lap with an ice pack for days and finally called my pediatrician who prescribed pain medication for her on the same par with cough medicine with codeine, but it did help. It was the like the worst oral surgery ever, an adult would have had pain meds.. this baby did not... needless to say I did speak to the surgeon, head of the department too, at this big hospital and let him know that he sent her home with no pain medication...

Just a little heads up to speak up for your child.. she might not have any pain... I just know what happened to my daughter and how I would deal with it now....a little more preparation on my part, make sure if you are driving you have paper towels in the car or a bucket, just in case... we are so unprepared for what my dd's turned out to be..

ps.. I looked up nystagmus and you did spell it right.. hugs to you Mom..

 

[jlbower79]

-

 

[iheartdisney]

Hi and thanks for all the kind words and advice.
The surgery will be done under general anestesia. They will be correcting the eye muscles, both muscles in ech eye. All the paperwork says children will not experience pain, only to give her tylenol or motrin, but with your advice, Mackey Mouse, I think I will ask her pediatrician about this when we get the pre-op physical paperwork filled out.

 

[jann1033]

maybe it's the type of surgery ( ie the painlessness)but oldest had surgery( hernia) when she was almost 5 and did have pain although bounced back very quickly...she too was sick due to the anesthetic ( general) but i was amazed though how fast she healed and was really pretty much up and around in a day or 2.
hopefully they do things differently now as then they wouldn't even let me go close to the OR with her and she clung to me for dear life and the nurses were crabs yelling at her to let go of me...that was over 24 yrs ago though, i think they have wised up some that kids are actual people and get scared and might give sedation if it's needed now pre-op...you might want to check about that though if she is nervous ( mine was)

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I went as far as I could with my daughter.. just outside the OR, she was pretty good.. I have to admit when they took her in I almost passed out. We were thinking we were facing a form of cancer in her sinus cavity, what it turned out to be was fibrous dysplasia, sort of a bone growth, and she was fine...

I would be prepared, hey she might not need the pain medication, but better to have a script in hand then try to call in and get in touch with a doctor after the fact.. Fill it only if she needs it, but have it... trust me on this one. And the nausea after general anesthesia is common, so I would be prepared there too...She spent some time in recovery....I am thinking like 3 hours but then was sick in the car on the way home.. I have to give my baby a hug now.. she is always my baby even though she is now 29.

Hugs to your sweet baby too... hang in there Mom...

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

Two of my children have had eye surgery. The oldest had it done when he was 4.5, and my baby had it done at 3. My children reacted really good to books, and just simple things. They knew that the doctor was going to help them take a nap, and while they were slepping the doctor was going to fix their eye, and when the doctor was done they would come back to mommy and daddy. If I recall it only was about 90 minutes from the time they went until they came back. Not sure if the doctor has said anything, but after the surgery there eyes are very red and bloodshot. There is usually a slight oozing of pinkish red liuid, but no bandages or stiches. I would assume that your child's would be similar to this. The biggest problem we had was with our oldest, he kept thinking he had sand in his eyea, and wanted to scratch them. A cool washrag worked great. By the next day you couldn't tell that anything had went on. One thing that I found hard as a mother, was letting someone take my child back there, it was so hard not to get sad in front of him.

 

[iheartdisney]

One thing that I found hard as a mother, was letting someone take my child back there, it was so hard not to get sad in front of him.

That is why Daddy is taking her!
Tommorrow is the day. I told DH he could pick, whether he wanted to take her, or stay with little brother and sister, and he wanted to take her, which I love him even more for!
He can't make it to the kids appointment, so I'm glad he has this time to talk to the doctor, and she can answer any questions he might have. Plus, I don't know if I can contain myself for her, and my fear will not help her.
A nurse from the OR called me, assured me they have lots and lots of experience with children. They will put the I.V in after she is out (a big, big fear of mine!) and will give her something so she won't even remember it. They will decide in the morning between General or just a light sedative. She can take a blanket and some toys. Daddy will be there when she goes to sleep, and he can hold her until she wakes up.
Thanks for all of your advice and encouragement! Its great to know other mommys have survived it (and the kiddos too!)

 

[iheartdisney]

Just wanted to update everyone, to not leave you all hanging, to thank you for your advice and concern, and in case a Dis-er in the future has the same concerns.
The surgery went great, although it took over twice as long as it should have, but everytime DH called back, they reported everything was going great. In all, it was a littler over 4 hours from when they put her under to when he was told she was out. She woke up cranky, and was in and out (mostly out) that whole day and the next. It was funny, she had 2 popsicles Friday, that was it, nothing Saturday until 1:30- right around the 24 hour mark from the end of surgery, and Boom! She had an appetite back!
It was a little scary, her eyes were swollen, and she did not open them all day Friday, all day Saturday, and probably 3 hours into Sunday. I was getting very concerned, because all the doctors, everyone I spoke to told me she would be running arounf the next day. Period. No "Maybes, if, ands or buts." I felt the doctor sugar-coated it to me, and failed to warn me ahead of time.
I apriciated the advice about the cold washcloth for her eyes, as I believe it also helped the swelling, and discomfort (she told me the doctor put stickers into her eyes
The results....a complete success! The strabismis is repaired, I noticed it on Sunday, she was looking strait ahead watching TV, and eating, and everything else, it is a miracle and made it all worth it! It was amazing, the results were so apparent.
So thanks again for all of your support and advice.I really needed it. Thanks again!

 

[darlak]

Glad everything went well. My daughter had 2 eye surgeries, one when she was 20 months and the second when she was 2 1/2. I think in hindsight, it was harder on her father and I than it was on her. She's 13 today and thankfully has beautuful and straight eyes. She did get glasses 2 years ago. We were warned that she might need then when she was older as a result of the weakened eye muscles. She only wears them to read and when she's in class. She might very well had needed them anyway though. I'm VERY nearsighted and 2 of her 3 siblings also wear corrective glasses.

 

[safetymom]

I am glad that her surgery is done. Sometimes I think it is harder on the parents.