HYPOSPADIA

[oregonianabroad]

ds2 had his operation today. i have deliberately avoided posting on the subject until the op was over, because I didn't want to get myself even more wound up than I already am. Was an absolute mess today, so glad that it's behind us now.

Dr says 'it will look like a dog has been at him' tomorrow and the next day.

Comments? Support? Tips? Experiences?

sorry now experience but bumping!

bumping before nappy change as am too scared to go and look!

my son (10 weeks) has this but it is mild and i've been told it probably won't need an operation. How old is your ds2? How are you? Much sympathy.

And how severe was it before?

We are all fine, Bella, thank you.

It was mild, his urethra was in the correct position, so it was his foreskin that needed correction.

Hope your lo one have to go through the operation. I don't think it was very serious, but I found having him go under a general very difficult.

sorry, won't need the op

well, i'm still waiting for a referral, i suspect it's been forgotten, it was meant to be six weeks or so.

yes, gen anaes sounds horrible. hope he recovers quickly

xx

How is your ds today? My ds had this done about a year ago - he was 18 months at the time. It was stressful but have absolutely no regrets now. They said it was a mild case but actually was a bit more complex once they got him down to theatre. He bounced back really well though and op was a success so no follow up required which is great.

I think I was probably quite concerned about changing him and what it would look like but tbh he was so well bandaged you couldn't see anything. We stayed in overnight to check he was peeing OK and catheter was draining etc. It didn't seem to affect him too much, he was bouncing around the next day like nothing had happened! He had a few spasms in the first couple of days where the body sort of rejects the catheter but you should have medication to deal with that. We were also sent home with a laxative but didn't need to give him that.

He was in a double nappy because of the catheter but changing him was fairly straightforward. My fear was he'd be grabbing at his bandage all the time but I guess it was probably too tender so wasn't a problem.

Catheter was taken out at home visit about 10 days later. That was a bit distressing too and expect your ds to be incredibly swollen down there for quite some time - ds wasn't black and blue though.

There were a few other posters around a year or so ago whose ds's had hypospadias but I'm a bit out of the loop these days so don't know whether or not they still post - longwaytogo and fearscape spring to mind. Hopefully they might see this if they are. Let us know how he recovers - it is hard at the time but I'm sure my ds has no recollection now and it is pretty important for a bloke to have it done I think.

I used to be fearscape! (well remembered bamboo )

My ds had a mild hypospadias correction at 14 months. His urethra was moved slightly and the foreskin "zipped up". The general anaesthetic was truely horrible, but I think you probably have the worst behind you. Ds only had the catheter in for 2 days and we stayed in hospital until it came out - has your ds got a catheter in at home?

I actually thought he looked surprisingly good when he came out of theatre although his penis was about 5 times its normal size and dh refused to look for about a week! Certainly didn't look like a dog had been at him, not much bruising, a tiny bit of blood on his nappy the first day which the nurse said was normal. He also started getting blood in the catether bag on day 2 which the dr said was a sign it was irritating his bladder and needed to come out. The catether coming out was hard, it definitely hurt as it came out, and the first few wees afterwards were pretty heartbreaking as ds would be playing happily and then suddenly start screaming, but after a few hours he was fine. I think we kept up the painkillers (ibuprofen and calpol) and antibiotics for a week. We were very gentle with the nappy changing for a while didn't wipe his penis, just cleaned with cool boiled water and cotton wool if it got poo on it (but went in the bath as normal).

We are five months on now and have a check up next week. Hopefully all will be fine. You can still see the scarring if you look closely and the bit of his foreskin that was sewn up gets red very quickly if he is in a wet nappy for a bit too long, but other than that he has healed very well and is absolutely fine.

Guess you will have braved the nappy change by now as you posted this morning! Hope all was OK. Let us know how you get on, do hope he heals well.

Sorry for the essay...

Thanks a lot, bamboo and LiegeAndLeaf! It is reassuring to hear of others' experiences. he didn't have to have a catheter, so that is something to be grateful for, and it doesn't look too bad now -- I have managed many nappy changes today, and am starting to get used to itnow. Unfortunately for him, he is definitely in pain when he wees, just like you said, he is fine and then starts screaming in agony and looking at me like, 'what the hell is going on down there!!??'

Am just so glad the whole thing is over and am definitely glad we have had it done now rather than later (he is 1).

Thanks again for posting.

Glad to hear he looks OK! If he still seems to be in pain when he wees tomorrow, it might be worth speaking to your doc about pain relief - the hospital told us to let them know if ds was in pain as they would be able to do something about it. You could definitely find out whether he is on the max dose of ibuprofen/calpol for his weight. Poor little thing, I did feel sorry for ds when he had his done but I think dh felt a lot worse!

Thanks, that's a good idea.

he's having loads of calpol and ibuprofin, doesn't seem bothered at all unless he wees, and then it's just the shock of it and he gets over it pretty quickly. It reminds me of when I'd had him, and weeing was an agony for a few days.