Ga and catheter - 20 month old

[Sirzy]

just got the date through for Ds to have an operation he needs which will involve a ga and him having a catheter for a week (hopefully only one night in hopsital!) he will only be 20 months when it happens in July.

Any hints on the nil by mouth aspect or the catheter?

Also, he has asthma - they are doing the op in the summer when he will hopefully be more stable - will the ga have any effects on this?

Sorry for all the questions, slightly panicking and it's not for months yet!

Nil by mouth is tricky, especially if you end up waiting for ages for your slot as often happens with non-urgent ops.

Hospitals often have foamy lollipop things which you can dip in water and let him suck to keep his mouth moist and also entertain him a bit. If I were you, I would pack a special 'fun' bag full of toys and games he hasn't seen before and that will keep him distracted from being hungry. Lots of things he can be involved in - puppets, games you both play etc, so he doesn't notice his rumbling tummy. This will also be useful when doctors and nurses need to do their checks on him as it'll keep him occupied.

As for the catheter - he won't be able to pull it out unless he's extremely determined, and he'll probably be too groggy from the operation to try to do so anyway. He won't notice it's there in all likelihood, and if he tries to pull it out it'll hurt so he won't continue. How long is he in for? The nurses might remove it as soon he's over the after effects of the GA, sitting up and alert etc.

Don't know too much about the asthma so I'll let your doctor or a wise poster help you with that.

Good luck!

That's great thanks!

He will be coming home with the catheter as it's in for a week. If he pulls it out he will have to have another ga to put it in again

He will be hard pushed to pull it out, I assure you. It's got a balloon inside which is inflated, so to pull it out he'd have to be pulling a balloon down his urethra, which is probably a bit akin to giving birth.

If I were you I'd get a load of cheap sleepsuit / onesie things and cut a hole near the crotch for the tube to come out of. He won't be able to stick his hands in his nappy and if he pulls the tube he'll definitely feel it and won't do it again.

Hi Sirzy
Ds has asthma and has had lots of opps one when he was the same age as your ds. We have always given him 2 puffs of ventolin before the ga and he has sometimes had to have oxygen for a very short while after but that has only been once when he was ill before anyway.
As for the nill by mouth i agree with everyone else about lots of different toys and distraction. They made sure Ds was done early on when he was little so they might do the same for you. Hope this helps

Good idea about the sleepsuits and extra ventolin!

My ds had an op aged one, has asthma and needed a catheter for a week!

Give the inhaler as needed, make sure all staff know he has asthma.

My ds did dislodge his catheter which involved a trip to casualty.

Sleep suit a really good idea.

Hope he is ok.