A Good Day in the OR

Lincoln's inguinal hernia repair surgery went well today. His surgeon who repaired his diaphragm hernia performed the surgery. She was so pleased to see Lincoln and how big he has gotten. It's been about two months since she has seen him. He was smiling at her and talking a little. She just loved it! After Lincoln was given an albuterol treatment, he was taken back for the surgery. We were told that he was very feisty and did not go to sleep with the gas they gave him so he got his IV while still awake (poor baby!). They couldn't give too much sedation before intubating him though, so there wasn't much choice. I guess he still has quite a tolerance for sedation.

The surgeon did find that Lincoln actually had a hernia on both the left and right, so she repaired both. She said she tried to look at his diaphragm with the camera, but Linc's liver is covering the repair location. But from what she could see, it all looked good. The whole procedure took about two hours. Afterward, Lincoln was upset for some time in recovery and was very sleepy. He was whining and very hoarse with a sore throat from the breathing tube. The nurses were having trouble weaning Lincoln's oxygen back to his baseline and had to keep him on 2L while he was so upset. Over a few hours, and several naps later, Linc was feeling better and his oxygen was able to be turned down to his normal 0.8LPM and he was able to drink a little formula. So we were sent home with instructions to give tylenol every 4 hours for one day, then as needed. We will return in 4 weeks or so for a follow-up appointment with Linc's surgeon. The surgeon used dissolving stitches inside and skin glue on the outside, so we don't need to return for any stitches removal.

Lincoln's Newborn Medicine doc came by to see him in recovery since we haven't been back to see her in over a month. She was so pleased with Lincoln's growth (14lbs 12oz, and 25.75inches long! ) and she was happy to hear how well he is doing developmentally (close to sitting unassisted and talking up a storm!). She said she would call in a few weeks to check on Linc after he has had time to recover from surgery and if all is well, she will have me turn down his Os over the phone! She will also coordinate our next visit with Linc's surgery follow-up appt.

Since we have been home, Lincoln has been pretty much himself and has already taken a full bottle and gone to bed like the good little boy that he is. He has been such a trooper, as always.