8 week old having scan, need advice please.

[nunnie]

Has anyone any experience please.

My DS is due to have a Nuclear Renal Scan and Micturating Cystourethrogram on the 2nd, he will be 8 weeks old.

Is it upsetting to watch them fit the catheter and the cannula?
Do they restrain or sedate for the scan?

My dd had a renal scan at 2 and was canulated but not catheterised. Personally I think it would perhaps be better to get out of the way as a small baby when they are less aware. The canulation was unpleasant to be perfectly honest, but dd forgot it almost immediately. The hardest part was her fighting to get away which is what makes me think it will bs easier and quicker for a small one. The scan involved lying in a few different positions, luckily dd slept through most of it. They did use a sort of padded board with harnesses on just to keep her in the right place, bit it was a darkened room, calm atmosphere, nurse there to assist as well as the scan technician, so that part was easy.

Good luck, it's just one day and your baby will not remember it

Thank you, the catheter is for the 2nd part. I keep telling myself it won't be nice but it will be over very quickly, and like you say quickly forgotten for the child.

Hopefully he will sleep through the whole scanning process too, make it much easier for keeping him stillish.

Yes if you're lucky and he sleeps it helps, but in dd's scan they had a basket of toys and rattles ready to distract!

Are they checking due to recurrent utis? That's what it was in dd's case. Luckily she seems to have outgrown them now and hasn't had one for over a year.

Hoping he will have had a feed just before, that will make him sleepy.

at my 20 week antenatal appointment they picked up that one of his kidneys was dilated, and it had got worse at the 32 week scan. He had a ultra sound at 3 weeks and it is slightly more dilated again, and there is thining in the tubing and the kidney looks different on the top than the bottom, so they are doing these to have a more indepth look at what is going on.

Glad your DD looks like she has outgrown the utis poor little princess, they aren't pleasant in adults can't imagine it for a baby.

It is horrible watching them put in the cannula, but you have to think that it has to be done, and could be very helpful.
Good luck. :)

OOoh, we've been through exaactly the same and I was just about to post a question about it!

DS (now 8 months) has a severe dilation on his right kidney which was picked up in utero. He's had scans every month since he was a day old, and he has the kindey function test, and the test for reflux when he was around 6 months.

The catheter bit is fine - they cry a little bit, but the area is numbed a little first, so they don't really feel too much. Once the catheter was in DS was fine. For the kidney function test (I think that's the nuclear renal scan) they put him in this blanket with air in, then sucked out the air so that he was held very still. He even fell asleep during the test, I think because he was so warm and snug in there! The worst bit with that one was when they put the IV in, which did make DS cry a lot for a few minutes.

Honestly though, they soon forget about the test. DS was fine once he'd had a bottle and a sleep afterwards, and even went to creche in the afternoon.

he needs to be well hydrated for the renal scan - they told me he had to have a bottle beforehand. And they like you to feed them after the scan too, as they have to drain the contrast material from the kidney, and also need to see how well the kidney drains.

Hope it all goes OK for you/your DS. I'm sure he'll be fine with all the tests - it's amazing how well they cope with these things.

Thank you everyone, am starting to relax a little bit now, it is all worth it in the end to find out what is going on in there.

Just had appointment for a renogram on the 23rd of december, he has to have a tube in his arm for that one.