Lincoln's first stage hypospadias repair surgery went as planned this past Wednesday. Even though no one in our house got a good nights sleep Tuesday night (maybe Lincoln knew what was to come), Wednesday morning started out great at St. Louis Children's Hospital with Lincoln weighing in at 16 lbs 12 oz! That's a gain of almost a pound in three weeks! I would say that his new supplements are working! We had some time while we waited for his docs to stop in before his 8:15 start time, so we snapped a few shots of Linc in his tiny little gown and slipper socks. He was in a good mood and just too cute to miss!
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| I guess Lincoln didn't expect Daddy to be taking pictures so early! |
After the nurse and anesthesiologist fought over who would be able to carry Lincoln, we gave him a kiss and Linc went back to the OR around 8:30. We were told Lincoln went under easily, which was great to hear since he was so "feisty" last time! Dan and I waited in the Same Day Surgery room and received phone call updates every 1.5 hours or so. His surgeons were able to accomplish all that they planned in about 3 hours, with no surprises along the way. Which is always the best thing to hear after a surgery!
Afterwards, Lincoln was brought back to the same room to recover. His immediate recovery was very similar to his last outpatient surgery for inguinal hernias. He was very sleepy for quite a while and having trouble keeping his sats up. He was hanging out in the low 80's on room air. He was on nasal prongs at 3/4 of a liter for a few hours to keep him up in the 90's. As Lincoln woke up more, the nurse was able to turn him down slowly. He was very agitated during his awake times and desatting to the 60's. Again, this was exactly his reaction after his last surgery. Lincoln also desats when he's upset at home, so I was not concerned and kept telling the nurse and doctors this. Lincoln just needed more time. They had gotten an overnight bed ready in the PACU for Lincoln earlier in the day just in case they felt Lincoln needed to stay for observation. But Lincoln pulled through and we were discharged to go home at 5pm. Right about 5 hours post-op!
Recovery at home has been going fine. Lincoln is on OTC pain meds round the clock and has two prescriptions. It's been a while since I had to get up every 3 hours to give meds, but it's nothing new! He also has a catheter placed to keep his diaper area dry. This is new for me, but it's really not been too bad since the catheter just drains into a second diaper Lincoln wears. Lincoln has been eating his usual diet and playing well. Although he does have the off and on upset stomach, vomit, or fussy periods. He's also not sleeping great and prefers to be rocked, but this is not too far off from the normal. He is very bruised and swollen, so it may take up to a month for him to fully recover in that sense, but his is temperament is pretty close to normal already. Lincoln really is doing great considering the extent of his surgery. His only restriction is no straddle toys for one month.
Linc will need at least one more surgery, maybe two, to be fully repaired. He will have plenty of healing time (a few months at least) before his next surgery. He has an appointment next Tuesday, the 22nd, for a follow-up with Urology and to have his catheter removed.
I'm so happy to be getting on with the final chapters of Lincoln's medical issues, and so far things are going just great! Lincoln is as strong as ever. Soon enough, all of these doctors appointments will be a thing of the past. And, the best part is, Lincoln won't remember he had such a rough start.
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