Nissen funduplication & pyloroplasty

Laura - posted on 08/21/2009

sorry,....his feeds are fine and were back to normal about 2 weeks after his surgery.....burping is going well also......doesnt seem to have as much air in his stomach as when he first was home from the surgery.....

Laura - posted on 08/21/2009

oh and BTW...Mason is 100% gtube fed....hasn't had anything by mouth since May 2008......everything goes thru his tube....meds......his ketocal formula ......water......

Laura - posted on 08/21/2009

Hi! Mason is doing alot better now! We wern't able to do the laproscopically due to his fragile nature......3 days after we got home from the hospital he developed a HUGE infection at his surgery site. i had to rush him to the ER....his surgeon was waiting for me....He had to open up his incision and drain the infection....We ended up in the hospital for another week.......he has an open wound......i do his dressing changes every day......it gets a little better all the time.....his surgeon said he hasn't seen something like this happen in a very long time.....and def not in a child ......as far as the nissen it was the best thing we could have done for Mason....he is tons better and seems to be more at peace.......obviously he was in alot of pain from his reflux.....

Katrina - posted on 08/14/2009

Hey Laura - Hows it going with your little guy? My son just had the nissen/gastro combo on July 31. Were you able to do it laproscopically? Here in Orlando I am lucky to have a pediatric surgeon who is a wizard with lapro surgery. How are your feedings going? I noticed that my son James was eating more orally before than he is now. The burping is a nightmare as well. He seems so uncomfortable after he eats orally.



Katrina

Laura - posted on 07/21/2009

had the nissen surgery 07/15....everything went well....stayed in PICU for a little over 24hrs then regular room for a few days....we're home now...still in alot of pain though....keeping his pain meds right on schedule...hopefully he will feel better soon :) Thanks for the advice!!

Laura - posted on 07/06/2009

I have spent too many weeks/months in the hospital with Mason.....he is still undiagnosed......you know you're in the hospital too much when the er drs and nurses see you and automatically get you a room before others....plus the floor drs and nurses know me and Mason and get us a nicer room right off the bat.....



Mason's aspiration pneumonia is both from stomach contents coming up into his lungs and also saliva.....He just had a saliva gram a couple weeks ago and they confirmed what I already knew that is aspirated saliva and stomach contents....add that to the worst nasty ear infections I have ever seen.....he is my youngest......I'm glad to hear that there is light at the end of the tunnel as far as hosptial stays.....We've missed too much of life...spent too many weeks and months ...also holidays in the hospital....By the way I have no problem voicing my thoughts to dr's....Mason was originally misdiagnosed at 6 weeks of age........It has been a LONG road for the both of us.....I can definately classify myself as a advocate for my child!!!! I yelled at many drs during his short life.......and stepped on many toes too!!!



Thanks for the advice! I'll keep you posted!

Sonya - posted on 07/06/2009

Matthew too had some serious PH results. It was something like a spike every 2-5 seconds.
We've been through months of hospitalization due to aspiration pneumonia. Then, at 4 years old, Matthew was admitted to the hospital for the last time. His lungs grew big enough to fight it off, and we haven't been in the hospital for 6 years now. There is hope that the hospital stays will stop.
We spent the better part of a year in the hospital with him. We became regulars in the PICU at a tier 3 hospital. It was really severe, and there were times when they told us that he wouldn't make it through.
Does Mason take food orally? Matthew doesn't, and so his aspiration pneumonias were actually aggravated by him swallowing his saliva and mucous when he had a cold. We had issues with ear infections that would cause aspiration pneumonia as well.
We solved the saliva issue by giving him medication to help dry up some of his secretions.
Lots of doctors don't like to do fundos now, so be firm. If you think it's best for your son, then don't let them push you around. I have found that mothers are a surgeons worst nightmare when they want what's best for their children.

Best of luck tomorrow. I'll be thinking about you. I'd love to hear what they have to say at the appointment.

Laura - posted on 07/06/2009

First off....Thank you for your response...I really appreciate it!! I go tomorrow for the surgery consult....We definately need to get the nissen.....Mason has had 2 hospital stays in less than 6 weeks due to aspiration pneumonia.....He is at the point where is is no longer strong enough to fight it off without a hosptial stay of atleast a week...Mason has had many "issues" from day one....Plus I just watch him with his reflux all day long.....makes me very sad for him...I can't even being to imagine the pain he is in all day and nite long.....After his GI Dr read the results from his ph probe he said if he didn't see the kid he would have thought the machine was broken because Mason has such severe gerd.....I'll let you know what they say after I talk to his surgeon tomorrow.........again, many thanks:)

Sonya - posted on 07/06/2009

Laura,

My son is 10 years old, and we had a fundo done on him at 1 year. At 6 months he had a g-tube inserted, instead of using an ng. Matthew had severe GERD and was losing weight prior to the fundo.

Personally, it was the best thing we could have done. 10 years later and the fundo is still in place and we've never had an issue with vomiting after his meals since then. In fact, he's on a 500 ml bolus feed every 4 hours and we have no issues with him keeping it all down. Prior to the surgery, he threw up everything and I did laundry from morning until night.

We have a friend whose son was born the day before our son, and their son is developmentally challenged like ours. They didn't have a fundo done, and they're really struggling with weight gain and his health.

I highly recommend having it done. When we had it done, it was an open procedure, but I've heard of them doing it with lasers and laprascopically (I know I spelled that one wrong... :))

What did your surgeon have to say about it?