another hypospadias op question

[fearscape]

You were all really lovely and helpful when I first posted about this so hope someone can help me this time! Ds, now 8 months, is having hypospadias op in October. I need to go back to work and am deciding on a nursery for him. I want to talk to the nursery about the op and possible repercussions before I book him in, but not really sure what to say. Obviously I will stay off work with him while he is catheterised and then for as long as he needs me, but is it likely that he will be ready to go back to nursery (ie well "in himself") before he is completely healed and maybe needs a bit more care when changing nappies? Can anyone help me with how long I should expect to be off work with him for? I am about to start a new job and feel like I should mention I will need the time off, but again not sure what to say! Would be very grateful for any advice.

Fearscape,
I posted about ds's op in 2004, and I think it's still there if you do a search. Sorry I didn't pick up on your previous threads. I would take 2 weeks off minimum. DS was in a lot of discomfort whilst the catheter was in (1 week) and the discomfort lasted for a few weeks after that, mainly due to the circumcision. Lots of baby neurofen went down his throat. I eventually worked out that the disposable nappies were the culprit, and once I had him back in cotton with a fleece liner, he was back to himself. However, DS had an intermediate hypospadias. It's probably not so bad with a smaller repair. Definitely tell work about it coming up though. It was like having a newborn for a couple of weeks and I was a zombie.

Thanks eldestgirl. Ds's hypospadias is quite mild but he needs two ops because the groove at the top of his penis is very shallow, so the first is to deepen that and the second is to actually move the urethra. The surgeon also said he would join up his foreskin (it doesn't meet at the bottom) so I think he will have some left, although some will be used for each op (he has quite a lot!). He will be catheterised for 2 days for the first and 6 days for the second so am expecting the second to be worse. Sorry your ds was so uncomfortable, hope he has now fully recovered! Were you able to change his nappies as normal once the catheter was out or did he need any special cleaning or treatment?

My ds had this op last Jan (05) and he only had the catheter in for a day after his surgery - ds's condition was mild and they were able to retain his foreskin.

Tbh i was more upset than ds was over all - it is always hard to imagine your child in pain. He was quite sore for the day of the op (he was done in the morning) but by the next day he was running around the ward with the toys - he even looked quite funny in his double nappy! Once home we just followed the surgeons advice about keeping the area clean - the scar healed in very little time and following his follow up appt he was fully released. He is over 2 now and you can barely see the scar at all.

In short, my ds was back to his normal active self within a day of the op - the surgeon will probably give you the best advice about resuming normal activities, but in my experience children of this age forget very quickly and want to get on with the business having fun as soon as possible! Good luck!

Meant Jan 06 (he was born 05 )

Thanks Rantum, that's very reassuring. I guess the answer to all this is probably that I won't know how long I need to stay with him until he actually has it done!

Eldestgirl, I just found your long and very informative post from 2004, thanks for that, it was really helpful. Good to know what's going to happen in a bit more detail. Funny how doctors like to admire their handywork, the consultant who examined my cs scar when I was in a huge amount of pain and had so much bruising even the midwives were commenting on it said it was a beautiful job! Didn't look very beautiful to me!

Sorry just thought of another possibly very stupid question - did your ds's normal trousers fit over the double nappy?

Just bumping in case anyone else can give any advice.

Fearscape - Don't know if you've read my threads form a while back but Ds had 2 ops one at 18m and another 9 months later (I think). Second op with superpubic (through the tummy) catheter much much easier than the first one because Ds had a bad reaction to the first (longer) catheter. But I think you'll probably be surprised at how fast your ds heals - I certainly was. You may want to to take a good couple of weeks off for yourself maybe more than ds because it's pretty draining on the parents I think. As to trousers - I just got some fairly loose cotton pyjama/legging/jogger type trousers for ds around the op and they worked fine. Good luck and chin up - It'll all be a dim memory soon.

Hi fearscape. I think you're doing the right thing in taking time off while his catheter is in - I wouldn't have trusted a nursery to deal with that. Also, and this is probably obvious, you need to change any dirty nappies ASAP to avoid the bandage getting too scummy - I never found nurseries very good like that at the best of times. But you're right you probably won't know how long you'll need until it happens. Hopefully your new work will be flexible about it?

As for trousers like treacletart says you'll want baggy jogging bottoms etc. ds is usually in cloth nappies so even two nappies weren't as thick as he generally wears. (Buy his usual size plus the next size up to go over the top.) I dispensed with vests for the duration too as I was constantly wanting to check he hadn't pooed when I wasn't looking!

Fearscape, DS looks absolutely normal now, no scarring at all. He does look circumcised but his father looks circumcised, without having been, IYKWIM, and so DS doesn't feel too different from his brothers. He pees in a beautiful line now, whereas his brother gets it all over the loo floor.
As soon as the bandage was off and the surgeon had had a look, he told me to go home and stick him in the bath. I don't recall any special cleaning, but he was on a broad spectrum antibiotic for a couple of weeks to prevent any infections. I would do the changing myself for a while though, until he looks healed and the swelling has gone down. Wouldn't trust a nursery really.
DS wore cotton nappies anyway, so even 2 disposable ones didn't amount to that much bulk!

Thanks a lot everyone for your advice. I'm very happy with the nursery he's going to and have spoken to them about the ops, but will definitely keep him at home while he's feeling delicate! Dreading it really as I expect you all were but I guess it will be worth it in the end. Thanks again.