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Open heart surgery
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Tue, Jun 01 2021, 7:41 pm
My son had open heart surgery at 6 weeks.

He wasn't allowed to eat before surgery, and he was crying and I couldn't hold him because he smelled me, so dh held him while we were waiting in the waiting room. I know in the scheme of things no big deal, but that was hard for me.

BH the surgery went well, but I was not prepared to see my baby on all sorts of tubes and stuff. It was very hard for me to see him that way.

He stayed in the icu for a day or two, and then he was moved to a regular room with one roommate. I think by day three he was calm without any pain meds, not even tylenol. Babies really do bounce back quickly!

The nurses were all amazing!


Mentioning these few 'little' things that were hard for me because I didn't feel prepared about those things, and so maybe it'll help you to know.


BH he's a lovely healthy little boy now, and other than the yearly checkups (and a scar) you'd never have any reason to think there was ever something wrong with him.
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amother
OP


 

Post Wed, Jun 02 2021, 5:02 pm
[quote="amother [ Emerald ]"]My son had open heart surgery at 6 weeks.

He wasn't allowed to eat before surgery, and he was crying and I couldn't hold him because he smelled me, so dh held him while we were waiting in the waiting room. I know in the scheme of things no big deal, but that was hard for me.

BH the surgery went well, but I was not prepared to see my baby on all sorts of tubes and stuff. It was very hard for me to see him that way.

He stayed in the icu for a day or two, and then he was moved to a regular room with one roommate. I think by day three he was calm without any pain meds, not even tylenol. Babies really do bounce back quickly!

The nurses were all amazing!


Mentioning these few 'little' things that were hard for me because I didn't feel prepared about those things, and so maybe it'll help you to know.


BH he's a lovely healthy little boy now, and other than the yearly checkups (and a scar) you'd never have any reason to think there was ever something wrong with him.[/quote

Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it. How big is his scar? Does it fade over time?
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Wed, Jun 02 2021, 5:32 pm
It grows with the body (so let's say it was 2 inches when it happened, but it's probably 4 inches now. I never measured it, but that's my guess.)

It didn't fade.


Funny story. When he was 2 he came home from daycamp and asked me why he has a lion. I had no idea WHAT he was talking about. Turns out his morah asked him why he has a line, because she assumed he didn't know the word scar. He didn't know about it at all at the time, we only started telling him about it when he was a little older, and he still doesn't know much other than that he needed a surgery to fix his heart when he was a baby)

The scar doesn't show unless he's not wearing a shirt, so it's not really a big deal except when he'd go swimming. But my kids wear rash guards anyway to minimize burning, so it's not so noticeable. And we're very normal about. He had a surgery and now he's fine. It's not something we talk about, but it's not a secret and nothing to be ashamed about.

The scar isn't ugly to look at, it's just a line of much lighter skin.


If you have any other questions please let me know. (I'm following this thread.) It's a hard chapter, but you'll get through it!




(Fringe benefit of surgery at 6 weeks is that - after surgery he was on iv. Then he was given bottles, and after a few days I was able to nurse him, but I let the nurses give him bottles at night. And by the time we got home from the hospital, he was sleeping through the night!!)
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jun 03 2021, 10:41 am
amother [ Emerald ] wrote:
It grows with the body (so let's say it was 2 inches when it happened, but it's probably 4 inches now. I never measured it, but that's my guess.)

It didn't fade.


Funny story. When he was 2 he came home from daycamp and asked me why he has a lion. I had no idea WHAT he was talking about. Turns out his morah asked him why he has a line, because she assumed he didn't know the word scar. He didn't know about it at all at the time, we only started telling him about it when he was a little older, and he still doesn't know much other than that he needed a surgery to fix his heart when he was a baby)

The scar doesn't show unless he's not wearing a shirt, so it's not really a big deal except when he'd go swimming. But my kids wear rash guards anyway to minimize burning, so it's not so noticeable. And we're very normal about. He had a surgery and now he's fine. It's not something we talk about, but it's not a secret and nothing to be ashamed about.

The scar isn't ugly to look at, it's just a line of much lighter skin.


If you have any other questions please let me know. (I'm following this thread.) It's a hard chapter, but you'll get through it!




(Fringe benefit of surgery at 6 weeks is that - after surgery he was on iv. Then he was given bottles, and after a few days I was able to nurse him, but I let the nurses give him bottles at night. And by the time we got home from the hospital, he was sleeping through the night!!)


Thanks. Idk why but I am so nervous about the scar. I still didnt make her a kiddush. I was planning a huge kiddush then we found out. I hope iyh to be able to do it combined with seudas hodaah iyh.
Still didnt ger call about scheduling it....
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amother
Lilac


 

Post Thu, Jun 03 2021, 1:33 pm
Dr had heart surgery with Dr Bacha in Columbia 9 yrs ago and the scar is a white line about 6 inches long on his chest. So not a big deal. Maybe your mind is ruminating on this tiny detail so you don't have to think about the bigger fears of open heart surgery. Iyh it will go well with a speedy recovery
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amother
OP


 

Post Thu, Jun 03 2021, 6:37 pm
amother [ Lilac ] wrote:
Dr had heart surgery with Dr Bacha in Columbia 9 yrs ago and the scar is a white line about 6 inches long on his chest. So not a big deal. Maybe your mind is ruminating on this tiny detail so you don't have to think about the bigger fears of open heart surgery. Iyh it will go well with a speedy recovery


Thanks. I looked at pics online and the scar looked scary so I am.nervous about it. happy to hear it shouldn't be as bad as I thought.

I want them to just schedule it...so I can get over it.


We didn't tell anyone yet except my mother so we need to do that too...ugh
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Thu, Jun 03 2021, 7:18 pm
I googled, and I see why you're nervous.

https://theshirleyjourney.com/.....6.png

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.....3.jpg

These are close to what my son's scar looks like now. The second link actually shows a before and after that I'm not sure if it'll reassure you or get you nervous, but I'm posting it anyway.


(another thing that I don't know if anyone told you is that after the surgery my son wasn't allowed to be on his stomach for a while - maybe 6 weeks - and we had to hold him a certain way so that he could heal.)
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 04 2021, 12:21 pm
amother [ Emerald ] wrote:
I googled, and I see why you're nervous.

https://theshirleyjourney.com/.....6.png

https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.....3.jpg

These are close to what my son's scar looks like now. The second link actually shows a before and after that I'm not sure if it'll reassure you or get you nervous, but I'm posting it anyway.


(another thing that I don't know if anyone told you is that after the surgery my son wasn't allowed to be on his stomach for a while - maybe 6 weeks - and we had to hold him a certain way so that he could heal.)


Wow! Thanks for that. I was googling and getting like the first image and was really nervous that's what it look like for life.
The other pictures look much more reassuring. It looks like we're going to have to use Dr kalfa since he seems to have availability first and they wanted it done pretty quickly.
Regarding going on her stomach, the doctor actually told me it probably won't be a problem. I also asked her if I would be able to travel in September and she told me it shouldn't be a problem. They finally called me today to schedule, DH is going to call them back in a few minutes.
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amother
Emerald


 

Post Fri, Jun 04 2021, 12:37 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Wow! Thanks for that. I was googling and getting like the first image and was really nervous that's what it look like for life.
The other pictures look much more reassuring. It looks like we're going to have to use Dr kalfa since he seems to have availability first and they wanted it done pretty quickly.
Regarding going on her stomach, the doctor actually told me it probably won't be a problem. I also asked her if I would be able to travel in September and she told me it shouldn't be a problem. They finally called me today to schedule, DH is going to call them back in a few minutes.


So the first picture is real, that's what the incision will look like after surgery, but it heals into a scar.

It should be with hatzlacha, and continue to reach out with any questions!
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amother
OP


 

Post Fri, Jun 04 2021, 2:58 pm
Thank you. We are scheduled for June 22nd
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amother
Maroon


 

Post Fri, Jun 04 2021, 3:00 pm
amother [ OP ] wrote:
Thank you. We are scheduled for June 22nd


It should be with much Hatzlocha!!
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browser




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jun 05 2021, 12:26 pm
Only besuros tovos
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amother
OP


 

Post Sat, Jun 05 2021, 8:10 pm
Thanks everyone. Really appreciate it
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amother
OP


 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 4:49 pm
My daughter's surgery is iyh supposed to take place tomorrow morning. Please have her in mind. Tehila Mattel bas Esther Malka Brocha.

Thanks
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Fabulous




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 5:05 pm
Refuah shelama!
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snowflake1




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 5:08 pm
I’ve been following this thread I hope everything goes well. Refua shlama
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daagahminayin




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 5:24 pm
Davening!
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bargainlover




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 5:28 pm
Refuah shelaimah and besuros Tovos! I’m davening for you and your baby, all should go smoothly!!
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Just One




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 5:34 pm
Will have her in mind. Iyh everything should go well with an easy quick recovery!

Regarding the scar, babies are so resilient and heal so quickly. The red should turn into white in just around two weeks. It'll then fade and become thinner till it looks like those pictures.

My son was oked for tummy time by around a week post surgery
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amother
OP


 

Post Mon, Jun 21 2021, 6:01 pm
Just One wrote:
Will have her in mind. Iyh everything should go well with an easy quick recovery!

Regarding the scar, babies are so resilient and heal so quickly. The red should turn into white in just around two weeks. It'll then fade and become thinner till it looks like those pictures.

My son was oked for tummy time by around a week post surgery


Thanks!!
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