September 14, 2015 "Surgery #8"

Surgery #8-Inguinal orchiopexy, inguinal hernia repair and take down of penile adhesion.

Got up at 3am to begin the day. Rayden had his 8th surgery in 8 months! He was such a trooper. Even though he hadn't eaten since 8:30 last night, he still smiled at everyone he met this morning. Anesthesia took him away from us at 7:30am. Dr. Sherry Ross came to the waiting room around 10:00. She took Michael and I to a private room to discuss how the surgery went. There were three parts to this one surgery:

1-She started by saying it was much more difficult than she had anticipated. We were unaware that he had developed a super large hernia. Dr. Ross said it was the largest hernia repair she had ever seen! It may be due to him having a shunt she said. She placed both of her thumbs together (one on top of the other) as a visual for us to see how large it was. She said it gave her a really hard time making her use every trick in her book and every stitch she knew to correct it. Even after all of that, she's only 90% sure it will hold. It may have to be reevaluated laparoscopically with a mesh at a later date if it doesn't hold. An inguinal hernia occurs when a portion of the intestines protrudes through a weak point in the abdominal muscles. It isn't necessarily dangerous by itself. It doesn't get better or go away on its own, however, and it can lead to life-threatening complications.

2-Then she discussed the actual testicle. Although she couldn't stretch the blood vessels and cords far enough down, she believes it is still viable and far enough for now. She's not sure if the testicle is damaged or not because it is much smaller than the other one. She's not going to go back in to correct it unless it's absolutely necessary. Of course, he will be monitored closely. I pray it heals up and grows perfectly. There are two main complications when a testicle is not located in the proper place; testicular cancer and fertility problems. We are trying to minimize Rayden's struggles. He has enough to fight!

3-Lastly she fixed Rayden's circumcision. He had a skin bridge and some adhesions.

The recovery room nurse couldn't seem to calm Rayden down so she called for me. She had already given him tylenol and fentanyl. Rayden was in so much pain. He was swollen and crying so pitiful with his lip quivering. The nurse wanted me to change his diaper right away. I almost passed out when I saw the two purple incisions and all the huge swelling! (I would post pics, but it's private!) Although Dr. Ross told me to expect it, I still wasn't prepared. I tried to give him a bottle but he wouldn't swallow because his throat always hurts after surgery due to the breathing tube. He fell asleep in my arms. I sat and rocked him for about half an hour. Although only one parent is allowed in the recovery room at a time, the nurse realized his Daddy hadn't seen him yet so she allowed Michael to come in and kiss Rayden for a minute. We went to another room where Rayden drank his bottle and woke up more. Around 12:00 we were able to go home.

Rayden was in so much pain. He wouldn't let me put him down. He would just lie in my arms and yell out in pain every ten seconds or so. I barely touched his belly to fasten the diaper and he screamed. When I lifted his leg just a tiny bit he would wail in pain! He cried enormous crocodile tears most of the evening! He didn't eat any baby food all day but he drank most of his bottles. Michael and I gave him some Motrin and Oxycodone and he drifted off to sleep about 9pm. He was up and down all night.

He normally bounces back pretty quickly so I don't expect this to last.