daughter has hernia

[dana1003]

anyone's child been through hernia surgery?? my dd5 is a very nervous, anxious child and im wondering how she'll do..im also worried about her going under..any stories would ease my mind

 

[jpeppers]

I don't know about a child but I had one a few years ago. The going under part is just fine. I was a little sore afterwards. The worst part was the staples (no stitches). The skin around them became very irritated after a while, once the staples came out it was instant relief. I feel for your child, it is not horrible but kids shouldn't have to go through pain.

 

[badblackpug]

Contact the pediatric department of the hospital where she is to have the surgery. They will often give her a "tour" of the department and the OR so that she knows what to expect ahead of time. If you are going to a large hospital or a children's hospital they often have a child life specialist that will do this and is great at connecting with children on their level to help ease their anxiety.

 

[alloyd1170]

My son had bilateral inguinal hernias at 6 mos old. He came through the surgery just fine. You couldn't even see the small scars a year later.

I had an umbilical hernia after having my son (no wonder since he was over 12 lbs at birth). The surgery was a breeze, but I had to take it easy for 6 weeks (almost like a c-section again). If one of my kids presses too hard on my belly button it hurts, but not like before the surgery.

 

[Mickey Fanatic]

My nephew had surgery for a hernia & to open the flap thingy to his stomach at 6 weeks. He came through it great! No scars or anything. Sending pixie dust to your daughter.

 

[bas71873]

No hernia, but my DD6 had to have her finger surgically repaired when she was 2 1/2 (thanks to her getting the tip pinched off in a slammed door) and she did fine in the surgery. Now, coming OUT of the anesthesia is a WHOLE other story. It was like she was possessed and I swear I was waiting for her head to spin around and green spew to come out of mouth....kinda like Linda Blair in the Exorcist. It was the most heart wrenching thing ever. She even screamed at me not to touch her. The nurse gave her something that calmed her down and about 30 minutes later she woke up, ate some ice cream and we hit the road like nothing ever happened.

Didn't tell this tale to scare you, but to prepare you. I was informed AFTER the drama that her reaction was typical of kids coming out of surgery and not understanding why they feel the way they do and why they are hooked up to things.

Hope that helps just so you are prepared for the recovery process.

Good luck.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

I must second the pp on the whole coming out of anesthesia thing. Both my kids had general anesthesia before they were 1 yo (1 of them several times) and it was ok, b/c they could nurse.

When my then ds6 had to have his eardrum surgically repaired, it was a lot different. He was disoriented and groggy and very unhappy until we got him home to nap. After his nap, he was absolutely, perfectly normal and bouncing off the walls b/c he'd had a nap. Go figure.

But it is perfectly normal for a kid to be combative, loud, and downright ugly for the first 30 minutes or so after coming out of the anesthetic.

Ds got stitches instead of staples, probably b/c they went in right beside his ear and it was a visible area. He had no problems at all with them. Ask if he can have stitches instead of staples.

 

[jakoky]

Hi there, i am so sorry for your little girl...my youngest dd was born 7 weeks early and had 4 surgeries in her first 6 weeks...her first three, she had 1/3 of her stomach removed, had 4 bowel atresias fixed, an area of bowel filled with e-coli cut out, and a web(layer of skin) removed at the bottom of her bowel...her last surgery was to remove the main line from her chest (put in when they ran out of veins on her tiny body)....It is amazing what they can do, and i feel for you because the worry us parents go through is very stressing...Your little girl will do fine, spoil her rotten....I will be thinking of you guys...

 

[billwendy]

HI!

My 4 year old nephew had this surgery last August. All went VERY well. They didnt tell him until the night before that he was going to get his boo boo fixed the next morning. His surgery was scheduled pretty early. He went in, went under and came out just fine. I'd say he went in around 9:30 and was actually home by 1. He napped on the way home and then was perfecty like himself and was riding his bike that same day. I think they glued his incision and then put steri strips over it. He wasnt able to swim for a week, but other than that it was GREAT and we were happy it was all over with!!

Our children's hospital sends you a link where you can actually see an informative version of what will happen in surgery - does yours? It was very helpful to us adults.

Best wishes!

 

[java]

My son had one last September(he was 5 too) we had a fantastic PEDIATRIC surgeon. He was chief of the department and I felt very comfortable with him. (Lehigh Valley hospital Dr. Chris Chang) I can't say enough wonderful things about him. His staff is so warm and nurturing that my son went in very calm. They let me stay with him up until he had to go into surgery and then allowed me to be with him as he woke up. (He was on my lap when he grogily woke up) They had put on a mask and a surgical cap on his stuffed dog that he brought into surgery with him! It was so cute. I thought if he had something with him it would help and I think it did.

If you ask him now about it he will say he like his surgery. What more can I ask for. It was outpatient, quick, first patient in, and we were home by lunch.
He was playing soccer a week later. It has healed beautifully. If we needed to go back for any other reason I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.
I don't know where in NJ you are but if you are close to that hospital I would suggest it!

 

[ammeador2]

My DD is 4 and she is getting her tonsils and adnoids out this week June 5. I am worried about her of course. She has been sedated before to get tubes in and then have them removed and handled that just fine, but this time they are going to use IV anesthesia. Makes me nervous! And my little boy who is 2 is getting tubes the same day. I may have a stroke before the day is over.

Kids are amazing and I am sure that your daughter will do just fine! Sending lots of pixie dust your way!

 

[encmerk]

Sending pixie dust your way. I do have to agree with the previous posters. The coming out of the operation was the worst. My DD was 2 and just finished having tubes put in and her adtnoids taken out. When they called us back to see her afterwards, she was crazy drunken girl. She was hitting the nurses and trying to scream. (Kind of hard when you just had your throat operated on) Finally she calmed down and an hour later we took her home. Which was an hour away, she napped all the way. Here is another funny thing. When we got home Dad went to go get her meds, and I had to go to pee bad. So I laid her on the couch and told her not to move for 1 min. I thought I could get back fast enough. Nope! When I came out of the bathroom, she was standing on the fireplace harth swaying and singing in her own little bar. Oh my... She finally acted normal after another hour or so. Good Luck.

 

[dana1003]

i want to thank everyone for their quick replies- i see that there were allot worse stories on here than mine getting her hernia operated on. you have humbled me..i am more at ease now and i will take the advice of taking a tour of the hospital to ease her. thank u all for taking the time to help out a stranger

 

[mommyofboys]

Sorry I can't help you, but I just wanted to follow along. I am having surgery for a hernia also (inguinal) and I am soooo scared. I have had several surgeries in the past, but something about them being that close to my femoral artery makes me nervous! I was supposed to do this in 2 weeks but put it off until August once I found out that they won't do it by laparoscopy. to you and your dd. Are they giving her general anesthesia? I am only going to have the twilight stuff...

If she has a favorite animal or blanket - take it with you. When my both of my son's had surgery they had there favorite with them and the nurses made sure that they had it back in their bed before they woke up.

 

[roxydotty]

I just wanted to add that my son had his hernia operated on when he was six and the worst part for him was getting the iv put in. His recovery was very easy and he was treated like a king for about 4-5 days. (We would carry him around!) Because of that, he sometimes jokes about needing surgery again so he can be babied! Also, he only needed tylenol once. Much easier than we expected.

 

[Mrsdennison]

I had my hernia repaired in 1983 when I was like a few months old. I did end up with a scar but all was well. My mothers favorite story involves the doctor saying well she'll never wear a two piece swim suit. LOL However two kids later and this body stays in a one piece.

I agree with the anesthesia being really different on different people. My dd has been under twice for tubes/adenoids. She does not come out of it well. But she also doesn't remember a thing of it about four hours after. Just realize that your child might be groggy and grumpy or even scream and cry but they really are okay. I know that was hard for us to understand.

Good luck.
Mrsdennison

 

[Erin1700]

My son had one last September(he was 5 too) we had a fantastic PEDIATRIC surgeon. He was chief of the department and I felt very comfortable with him. (Lehigh Valley hospital Dr. Chris Chang) I can't say enough wonderful things about him. His staff is so warm and nurturing that my son went in very calm. They let me stay with him up until he had to go into surgery and then allowed me to be with him as he woke up. (He was on my lap when he grogily woke up) They had put on a mask and a surgical cap on his stuffed dog that he brought into surgery with him! It was so cute. I thought if he had something with him it would help and I think it did.

If you ask him now about it he will say he like his surgery. What more can I ask for. It was outpatient, quick, first patient in, and we were home by lunch.
He was playing soccer a week later. It has healed beautifully. If we needed to go back for any other reason I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.
I don't know where in NJ you are but if you are close to that hospital I would suggest it!

My DD8 has had her surgeries done by the same office just the other doc there...Hardin. We had them done at LV hosp too!
To the OP...my DD was 7 and then 8 when she had her surgeries and the thing that made a difference for her was that one of the nurses held her while they put the mask on. So she wasnt just laying there with people standing over her. Both times they have done this!
The first time she was sick to her stomach when she woke up, the second time they gave her something for it and she was fine! Might want to ask about that!

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

Hi,
We noticed an inguinal hernia with our DS after vacation. I could hear this odd water rushing sound after I nursed him and put him down to sleep. The next day we saw the strange lump on his groin so we took him to the ER. The noise I heard was the intestine slipping in and out of the hernia.

DS had surgery the day after his 1st birthday (about 2 weeks after we found it) and it went fine. They gave him the sleepy medicine before they took him back and did the IV after he was out. He had a mini-epidural so when he woke up he was tired but didn't cry until they took out his IV. We had to wait for his legs to "come back" so he had a snack and after an hour we got to come home. After a nap he was a little cranky but way better than I expected! He ate a huge dinner and just wanted to cuddle all day.

Now fast forward 4 months later and we have a second hernia on the other side! The surgeon had checked the other side during the 1st surgery but did not see any issues. I was shocked and afraid about putting him under again. The hole was so small they couldn't see it with the scope. This time around it was fixed lapriscopically. Just one cut through his bellybutton and one small incision on his inner hip area. No stitches on the outside, everything dissolved on the inside like the 1st time. No epidural this time either so he was a little more upset once he woke up. But, after lunch and a good nap he was back to himself.

The pediatric surgery staff and nurses were so wonderful keeping him busy with movies and a wagon he got to push and pull around the nurses station. He even got to pick which color scrubs he wore. We had the same anesthesiologist both times and he talked to DS like he was his own child. He cradled him and rocked him until he was ready to go to the OR.

I hope your daughter's surgery goes well. It was a scary time for us that was calmed by great staff and nurses. Kids bounce back so fast!

 

[Denine]

DD had 3 hernia's repaired at one time 1-1/2 years ago. She was 5.

She did really well. She was a hurtin' puppy for a week, but she was fully recovered and running around by then end of the week.

I went in with her when they put her under.

I also wanted to add that I got books about surgery for kids out of the library. She always needs to know exactly what is going on and this helped her.

 

[MamaLema]

My DS also had surgery for hernia when he was 5. He recovered soooo much faster than I thought, I couldn't believe it. The hardest part for him was getting the I.V. in. Also, he is a big eater and was not happy about having an empty stomach until 11:00am