Friday, April 6, 2012

So Long, Cyst!


Today was Jackson's procedure at Children's to remove the dermoid cyst above his left eye.  Like his last visit for the CT scan, he wasn't able to eat breakfast, so we let him sleep in and then played with him to keep him distracted so he didn't realize how hungry he was before it was time to leave for the hospital.

Surgery was scheduled for 10:15 and after checking in, we were taken to the prep room where he changed into a hospital gown and comfy socks and was given some toys to play with while we met with the various doctors and nurses that would be caring for him. 

When they were ready to begin the surgery, I was able to don disposable scrubs, a cap and booties so that I could accompany J back to the operating room. The anesthesiologist, a few nurses and I tried to keep J happy and occupied while they put the gas mask on to put him under.  It only took a minute or two, and then I gave him a kiss and was escorted back to the prep room to meet back up with Corey.  We then spend the next hour or so waiting for our munchkin.

Once the surgery was done, J's surgeon came out to fill us in that it went well.  He mentioned that the cyst was 'pretty large' and had a 'long stock' that went right through the bone (as expected).  J has disposable stitches that are actually on the inside of the wound, which, in addition to the skin near the eye being the most regenerative in the body, should make for little to no scarring.

We were then able to meet up with J in the prep room again and were able to snuggle and feed him - he got SO excited when he saw his bottle.  They'd left in the IV port, which wasn't connected to anything, but it was a toy to him, so he kept trying to play with it and tear it off.  This resulted in a bit of a blood bath all over him and me before the nurse could run in and take out the port and bandage him up.  Hopefully we didn't scare other families as we walked out of the surgery area with my shirt covered in blood splatter.

We got home and Jackson, who didn't seem the least bit phased from the morning's events, got busy playing with his favorite toys and enjoying a big lunch of applesauce and puffs.  After a long nap this afternoon, he seemed a little fussy, which we assumed meant the local anesthetic had worn off.  This was our queue to give him some baby Tylenol, which seemed to do the trick right away.

We are so glad the surgery is over and done with and now we can continue focusing on his big birthday bash.  And assuming he sleeps well tonight and feels good tomorrow, we'll be heading to Yakima for a fun weekend with my fam. 

No comments: