Thursday, December 17, 2009

Phew...Hemangioma Surgery Report

Before and After:




Thank God that's over. The quick version, because I have tons of emails from my students to answer about a lab that's due because I wasn't in school today or yesterday.

We were scheduled for a 10:30 surgery, so we got Andra up before 7 so she could have some apple juice (no solids, no milk after 4am, and we weren't about to wake her up then, so she hadn't eaten since dinner/milk Tuesday night). Drove into the city (about an hour), got to Beth Israel hospital around 8:30 (an hour early, but with traffic around here you never know), and had time for a bagel and coffee (felt badly that Andra couldn't eat but she didn't seem to care). There was another couple with one of their 9 month old twin girls there for a hemangioma on her arm (her twin had had about 7 removed 2 months earlier and the parents couldn't say enough about Dr. Waner and the results). They finally went in around 9:30, we finally went in around noon. Andra was a champ, didn't protest the no eating, no drinking thing at all.

I braved up and asked about the possibility of Dr. Waner looking at Andra's adenoids too. We knew they were enlarged, making it hard for her to breather through her nose (and hence smell, taste) and causing her chronic runny nose, and we were pretty sure they'd have to come out at some point, so even though I felt awkward asking, I knew Dr. Waner was in fact an ENT and so I did. He was so nice about it, saying of course he'd take a look and if they looked bad he'd take them out. So I was happy because I trusted his opinion.

Fred wanted to be the one to go with her while they gassed her to sleep, so my last view of her was a smiley baby pointing at the doctor's nose (the girl likes noses). Fred came back a little shaken up, but it was only about 30 seconds that she was crying.

We got an update around 1:30 from one of the other doctors, who said the hemangioma was a piece of cake (AND he took a picture of it for me...gross but cool) and that the adenoids did in fact need to come out. So out they came! Nice, because it means we avoid another surgery (and the agony of making the decision of when, and if, and whether...) and kill two birds with one stone. Down side is, recovery is worse. With just the H, we would've been out and home a couple hours later (we saw the other baby walking out soon after they took Andra up). In this case, they hemmed and hawed and decided to keep her overnight because her breathing was labored due to airway swelling from the adenoids and being intubated. Guess it's typical for under-3's and adenoidectomies, but since this was a bit unexpected, we were of course unprepared. No big deal. Recovery was rough...she was so disoriented and I swear she cried more in 10 hours after than in the whole previous 12 months combined. Seriously, the girl is not a crier so it was rough to hear. I almost lost it twice, but really that wasn't an option. She vomited ALL OVER me once (I saw it coming and just waited...what could I do? And did I mention, I didn't have a change of clothes?) and did NOT want to be put down. She slept a good chunk of the night on my chest, and when I did manage to transfer to her crib without pulling out any of the 5 things attached to various parts of her body, I got about 30 minutes of poor sleep before someone would come in and do something. Seriously, I was not impressed by the PICU nurses.

When they woke us up at 5:40am (seriously?), Andra was happy, pointing, bouncing, and we had a good day. She was exhausted and went to bed around 5:30 tonight, has woken once already but hopefully will sleep a good chunk of the night so I can catch up so I can go to work tomorrow (Fred and my dad are staying with her).



The two pictures above I got with my phone, the first still in the hospital and the second tonight at home. She needs to have the drainage tube removed tomorrow (hopefully) and stitches will come out in a week, and soon enough Dr. Waner says she'll have no noticeable scar at all. And her baby facelifted eyebrows will settle down in 6-8 weeks, they had to stretch the skin a bit to close.

14 comments:

The {G} Family said...

She looks great Claire! So good to hear she is doing well and that you had a relatively good experience. Please keep me posted with her progress! Thanks for letting me know! ~Steph

Mnowac said...

Bless her heart, so glad that is over! What a rough day for you guys. Hope she heals up quickly. So glad you asked about her nose and could get it done at the same time!

jessica said...

Wow, what an experience, but sounds like you found a solid doctor. The surgery site looks great -- so amazing what skin can do.

Somewhat related: We switched pediatricians this year and our new doctor is shocked old doc didn't have Lola's enormous adenoids out when she was younger. Now she's old enough to remember every last detail :(

Hang in there, hope your little one gets back to her happy self ASAP.

Michelle Simmons said...

Wow. Champs. All of you. I can't evenimagine how hard that must have been. And I'm amazed A didn't protest the fasting!!! Moana would have had a complete meltdown if we didn't feed her for that long.
Hope Andra heals up quickly!

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you all are safe and that everything went relatively well! My oldest had a cyst removed from his neck when he was 20 months old; I remember how tough it is to see them after surgery! Breaks your heart! Also, glad you had a doc you could trust! Hoping recovery continues to go well. Kids are such troopers aren't they!?! on a side note; based on our ENT's rec we used vitamin e oil, just generic stuff on Jason's scar once the incision healed and you can barely see it anymore (almost 3 years later).

RunningMama said...

What an experience for you! Nothing worse than seeing your poor little one in pain! She looks great though! I'm so glad they could do the 2 surgeries in one!

Debs M-C said...

What a brave little soldier you have! Wishing Andra a speedy recovery.

N.D. said...

I am so glad that it went well. I LOVE that top picture - her eyelashes and eyes and expression - just adorable!

Allison Chapple said...

So glad it all went well. She is beautiful, Claire. :) But you already knew that!

Shannon (The Daily Balance) said...

JUST found your blog and wanted to say hello - and send my best -- your little one looks great! so happy to hear the good report ;)

Anonymous said...
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X-Country2 said...

Nice job Andra and very nice job mom and dad. :o)

Angela and David said...

So glad she is okay! What a tough little girl you have. And I can't imagine how heart breaking it had to be to watch her go off into surgery.

And I learned a new word - I had to google adenoid.

Anonymous said...

Clare, you don't know me, but, I have a daughter with a hemangioma and have been doing research, following your experience online. I would love to connect via email to learn more about your medical experience in New York. If this reaches you, please email me at vlamberg@comcast.net. I'm having trouble finding help for my 1 year old. Thank you so much.