Recovering from Hernia Surgery

Did you know that a three year old could have a bilateral inguinal hernia?  Well, they can – and it requires surgery….

Around Christmas, we noticed one of Wyatt’s testicles was very enlarged. We immediately brought him to the walk in clinic (it was a Sunday – our only option). They recommended we go to the hospital and get an ultrasound.  After hours and hours of waiting to hear from the doctor, we were told it was a simple hydrocele and it would go away. “Don’t worry, this is very common and causes no problems for children” we were told.  Sure enough, the next day, the swelling was gone and we were relieved. There are two medical issues I don’t like to mess around with. Those would be  eyes and privates – you just don’t want problems with those, am I right?

Over the next few weeks, when Wyatt was going potty or getting a diaper changed, I would think that that one side looked a little swollen again. Then within minutes or hours, it would be back to normal. I thought maybe I was losing my mind, or seeing things.  I was nine months pregnant, maybe all those hormones were making my vision blurry? Just to be safe, I made a phone call to our pediatrician and explained the entire story to him. He agreed to look at the ultrasound reading and call us back. Later that day he told us Wyatt needed surgery. He referred us to a surgeon and we made and appointment for a consultation.

While at the surgeon visit, we learned that while baby boys are in the womb, the testicles develop up in their abdomen, then around 28 weeks gestation, they travel down these tubes and descend outside their body. Normally, these tubes close and everything is fine. However, if the baby is preemie (not Wyatt’s case) or sometimes just randomly, the tubes do not close. Then fluid travels from the abdomen to the testicles freely and causes swelling in the testicles. Both of Wyatt’s tubes failed to close, one side being “more open” than the other. This explains why sometimes he was more swollen than other times – it has to do with gravity. The surgeon told us that sometimes the tubes close on their own, but if they haven’t closed by age 3, it needs to be surgically repaired.  He did, however, think it was odd that Wyatt did not present with any symptoms until after he turned three.  If you are confused, click here for more information.

Wyatt had his surgery last Thursday (February 12th). It was quite the day…

We were told to arrive at the hospital at 6:30 am. No easy task with a three year old and no sleep the night before from a fussy infant.  Thank goodness Chris’s mom was here to help with Brooklyn while we focused on Wyatt.  We then waited for an hour and a half to be brought to pre-op, where we waited another 45 minutes to be brought into the OR.  We were told only one parent could go with Wyatt into the OR while he was being “put to sleep”. I understand there are reasons why hospitals have certain rules, but how can you make parents choose? In the end, Chris went with him and it was not a good experience. No one likes seeing their child scream for help. It was a total feeling of helplessness for him.

The surgery took about 45 minutes, and the surgeon came out to talk to us and told us that it “couldn’t have gone better”. This was a relief – after 4 hours at the hospital I was starting to get panicky (I was also exhausted).  Then they told us only one parent could go in with him to post-op while he woke up. Again, I understand rules, but come on – he’s three. Let both the parents go see him!!! This time, I was the one to go be with Wyatt.

He finally woke up, groggy and confused. We were wheeled back to our “room” on the same day surgery unit. He was desperate for water. The tube they put down his throat while he was asleep made his throat really dry and hurting.  We gave him a few small sips of water, and within 10 minutes he was vomitting. Over the next 6 hours, he threw up anything we put in his stomach, and dry heaved when there was nothing left to throw up.  Even hours after the surgery, he was so groggy from the anesthesia he had trouble keeping his head up and when he tried to walk, he  kept tripping over his own feet.

When he came out of the OR, he had an IV line in his hand which immediately bothered him.  No matter how many times we told him to leave it alone, he just would not. He ended up pulling it out. When he did this, blood started running all over the place and the IV was dripping everywhere. Of course, there was no nurse in sight. I ran up and down the halls looking for someone to help. Finally, during my search, I heard Chris screaming in our room for a nurse. This made nurses come out of the woodwork. (Note to self: If you have an urgent situation, don’t push your call light. SCREAM!)

When his tummy finally settled down and he had peed, we were allowed to leave. All the lights were out on the unit – apparently no one expected us to stay this long.  For the rest of the day at home, he was sleepy, but did not complain of any pain. By Friday morning he was running around like the crazy three year old he is, and no one could’ve guessed he felt so yucky the day before.  The doctor told us kids rebound from this surgery quite nicely, I guess I didn’t expect it to be that soon!

So we are home now and recovering quite nicely. We removed his dressings last night and Nana Ruth gave him a “Valentine’s tubby”.  So it is back to normal around here, if you can call it that!

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