United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My son is due to have an MRI on Nov.5 and that will determine exactly what type of surgery we will be having on Nov.13. My baby will have to be sedated for both and is not able to eat four hours prior of arrival. I was hoping to get some advice on how parents prepared for procedures and recovery. Any advice would be great, this is all foreign territory for my boyfriend and I.

I'm sorry to hear about your baby. We are going through the same thing with my son. He had nerve graft surgery on June 15th. It was a 11 1/2 hour surgery. It was hard not feeding him before the surgery but it's something that's has to be done. My advice is to see if they can schedule it first thing in the morning, which they usually do for babies. Let him sleep as long as possible before getting him ready to go to the hospital. Feed him well the night before and bring plenty of toys to keep him entertained and his mind off his belly while waiting to go back. Be prepared when you get to see him for the 1st time after surgery. You probably won't recoganize him. My son's face was very swollen because of fluids. It will take a couple days to return to normal. He might also shake alittle. Just remember it will pass and you'll have your baby back in no time. Hope this helps.

Thankfully, most places will take the youngest children first, so hopefully he won't even notice! When our son with BPI was very little, I would nurse him right before the "deadline" and really, with all the activity of getting in the car, driving and the new place, he never even realized he hadn't eaten. The first MRI was the hardest; watching my baby "get put to sleep" the first time was really tough for me. Make sure you have someone with you. You will probably go without food, too, and so someone to bring you something as soon as he goes back is really helpful. And to just have a shoulder to lean on. Ask your doctor about Versed aka "happy juice". I have three boys all with surgical needs and none of them has any anxiety surrounding surgery because their doctors have always used versed prior to surgery. Usually it is offered but it is best to ask the anesthesiologist about it ahead of time. Typically, the anesthesiologist will call you the night before the procedure to check in and answer questions; that is a good time to bring it up. Otherwise, tell it to your intake nurse as soon as you are in pre-op. Most kids react by just acting a little "drunk". Some kids come out from under the influence of anesthesia rough and versed can increase that; that part is unpleasant. But even in the kids for whom it makes "waking up" rough, it still has amnesiatic effects, so the kids don't remember any trauma or being taken away from you. It is really preferable for them to get versed prior to the nurse placing the IV for anesthesia, but that will probably depend on your hospital. You can also get a prescription for topical lidocain cream and put that on in advance so the IV doesn't hurt as much; if your surgical team is cooperative you can put it on likely IV locations ahead of time. Ask your doctor how they work all these parts to help make the MRI and surgery better for your precious little one. And hang in there... we'll be here thinking about you and waiting to hear how it went.

*Hugs*

Kate

When I woke up from surgery although not painful I still felt overwhelmed in a sense that I felt like a drill hit me metaphorically speaking if this helps..im happy with this surgery.