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Children's health

9 mo undescended testicle surgery

10 replies

Tangoandcreditcards · 04/11/2014 15:44

DS is due to have surgery for this next week.

I'm nervous.

They've told me he's not allowed to eat (or have milk) after 7.30am and we're to arrive at the hospital at 12.30 for surgery "in the afternoon". He'll be screaming the place down by then, I reckon. Poor thing. I hope the surgery isn't much later than that.

Has anyone's DS had this surgery at this age (there seems to a be a wide disparity on when they do this surgery, with DS being on the young side, but I couldn't find any benefits of waiting).

I know it's a fairly straightforward op (If they can find it, it was non-palpable at 6mo). But any tips about coping pre and post surgery appreciated.

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sarahsarahw · 05/11/2014 08:16

Hi Tango, it's ok to be nervous, we all are when it's something happening to our DS :)

My DS and DH both had surgery at an older age so I can't help directly, but it's really good they are doing your DS so young. The younger the better and there's no benefit to waiting, so this will help both him and his testicle develop.

As to coping, the calmer you can be before the surgery the calmer your DS will be (as he will pick up on your emotions) and the easier it will be for him. I know how hard it is, so don't beat yourself up if you fail. Post surgery I found surprisingly easy; my DS didn't seem in pain, wanted food and was back to normal quicker than I was :)

Keep in touch and let us know how it goes.

You might find this story of a 2 year old's surgery useful to prepare yourself.

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CaptainsCabin · 05/11/2014 13:02

My DS had this surgery at 9mo. I was very nervous about it but one of the benefits of having it done so young is that he had no idea what was happening so wasn't upset by any of it. He was also booked in for afternoon surgery so we had an early breakfast and then it was just clear fluids from then on. The surgeon on the day bumped him up the list as he was so young and he was actually the first to go down for surgery in the afternoon. He was very out of sorts immediately after the op when we went to recovery to collect him but within an hour and some painkillers he was climbing the sides of the cot and waving at the nurses. Calpol, cuddles and Nurofen was all he needed in the following days and now you can't even tell where the scar is. I hope all goes well for your son. The reality of it all wasn't as bad as I had imagined in my head beforehand!

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QuillPen · 05/11/2014 17:23

My DS had this operation just before he was two. I am actually the person who wrote the bit that sarahsarah linked to!

That pretty much covers everything about the operation and afterwards. DS is 7 ane is fine now and he has been taught to check himself daily to make sure everything is still fine and in place. I have also talked to him about the operation and his scars so he knows. I decided that this age is the easiest to bring it up- before he is an embarred teenager or fully grown man! He has no memories of his operation at all.

Feel free to ask me about anything about my other post.

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Tangoandcreditcards · 06/11/2014 19:14

Thanks so much all of you. That's really reassuring. That blog is amazing quill (and thanks for the link sarah) just the sort of detailed description that sets my mind at rest.
Glad all your DSs are doing well now. I'll let you know how it's gone next week!
captains how soon after surgery were you able to go home with your 9mo old?

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CaptainsCabin · 07/11/2014 11:31

Tango, he went down for surgery at about 2pm, was back on the ward at about 3.30 and was discharged at 6.30/7ish. He had to have eaten something before he was allowed to leave so I took some little pots of custard and some biscuits as I knew he'd eat them. I didn't want to not be allowed home because he didn't like the look of an NHS sandwich/dinner!

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namechanger963 · 07/11/2014 11:42

Hi there,

DS had this done when he was about 2; in the end they couldn't find the testicle so they just took out the 'nubbin' and he can choose to have a fake testicle in later if he wants (When he's about 13).

I was really worried about the 'no milk' thing but managed to get him though it with a lot of distraction and giving him water. I think it might be harder with a 9 month old but you can do it. Our surgery was delayed but we were let go the same day and he was fine.

My husband took him to have the sedation (Mask over the face) and he said that was quite a hard thing to do, which is why I didn't do it!

Post surgery we gave him the paracetamol stuff they gave us but he was really very bad at taking it so we had lots of cuddles and lots of breastfeeding.

He was back in Nursery in days and was fine.

my short blog about it. (not as good as the blogg posted above)

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QuillPen · 07/11/2014 13:43

Tango - I hope the operation goes very well next week. I look forward to hearing you are he are out the other side. All the best for the Big Day.

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Tangoandcreditcards · 13/11/2014 07:46

Thanks for the blog namechanger. I'm sorry you didn't feel you had enough info and that they couldn't find your son's testicle but glad he is ok now. I'll try and remember to ask lots of questions!

It's the day of the surgery and I woke DS up at 7am and crammed him full of breakfast (1 and a half Weetabix, half a pear and a fromage frais) hopefully that'll keep him full for a while. I tried a bottle as well but he wasn't having any of it (unsurprisingly)

He's in the BEST mood. I feel a bit bad that he doesn't know what's coming! DP will take him out for most of the morning which will keep him asleep or occupied I hope!

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CaptainsCabin · 13/11/2014 16:31

Hope everything went ok today.

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Tangoandcreditcards · 13/11/2014 18:29

Thanks captains - we're just out the other side.

He was last on the list so we didn't get into theatre until 4pm and he'd had no food since 7.20. Poor little guy was being very good, considering, but was on a pretty short fuse for the last couple of hours. Then there was a weird mad rush because (even though we'd been sitting in the waiting room for 3 hours) none of the paperwork or obs were done and the surgeons were waiting.

Anyway, we got down and they put him under (not fun) and we were called back in an hour.

Unfortunately they didn't find a testicle so they just "fixed" the other one (to protect it from torsion, I think). And he's had some milk and is sleeping on the ward now and we are expecting to get discharged later tonight. I was worried for a while we'd be kept on because it has got so late but the surgeon has done the discharge so hopefully we'll escape.

Thanks for all the posts.