Cranial scan???

[bumpsmum]

Daniel has to go for a cranial scan on we'd at X-ray dept of our local hospital. Has anyone's lo had this done? If so what's it for and what can I expect? Daniel will be 36+4 then when I asked at Nicu before discharge what it was for they just said 'to check he has developed fully'. Matthew, my other prem lo didn't have this scan but Daniel was 10 weeks early rather than the 7 weeks so wondering if it's a gestation thing xx

 

[Sam182]

Alex has his tomorrow. They just told me it's to check the brain and make sure it's developing correctly. I'll let you know what they say if you like x

 

[bumpsmum]

Thanks. Say hi to Pauline, Andrew and baby Andrew for me if u see them x

 

[Jen1802]

Juno had this the morning of her discharge and I was told it was because she had, had brain flares and a grade 1 bleed in the first week after her birth and it was to assess the ventricle development and what impact the bleed may have had. I was told the ventricles looked to be normal and although she had, had frequent ultrasound scans in nicu and scbu the x ray department had a more thorough machine and would show everything up in greater detail. I was a bit pissed at the time though as no one bothered to inform us that she had, had a brain flare or a grade 1 bleed, it was literally on her discharge day they told us about it. Good luck! xo

 

[bumpsmum]

I'm beginning so notice at nicu don't tell parents the full story until they need too! There was no mention of Daniel suffered any bleeds etc but I am worried about cerebral palsy as his wee legs are very rigid and difficult to straighten out at times - hoping its just wind related x

 

[Sam182]

I will do

 

[Foogirl]

I would think the reason you are going for a scan is because he wasn't in long enough to have them all in hospital. Abby was scanned three times in NNICU. Matty and Daniel will have had scans whilst in hospital but if there were no issues you probably weren't aware they did it, it is entirely routine. I can almost guarantee of a bleed was found, you would have been told.

CP would not manifest itself with stiff limbs at such a young age. It pretty much only becomes a problem beyond a year old. Abby always had quite floppy limbs. Only later did the stiffness come in.

 

[Sam182]

Alex had his PVL today. It was an ultrasound of his brain. They said it's routine for all preemies to make sure their brains are developing correctly and that there are no bleeds etc. Alex was given a clean bill of health which is great news. Pauline said hi x

 

[Marleysgirl]

Andrew had three or four u/sound scans of his head while he was on NICU to monitor his pre-birth bleed (and presumably check that another hadn't happened). They actually wheeled an u/s scanner alongside his incubator & cot, did the scan in situ.

He had one MRI scan also when in NICU, this was to determine whether the bleed was on the brain side of the membrane or the skull side.

 

[Jen1802]

I'm beginning so notice at nicu don't tell parents the full story until they need too! There was no mention of Daniel suffered any bleeds etc but I am worried about cerebral palsy as his wee legs are very rigid and difficult to straighten out at times - hoping its just wind related x

I certainly noticed it and obviously was pretty cross we hadn't been informed of the grade 1 bleed when she was first born and then the subsequent brain flares during the following weeks she was in NICU. They were thorough with their scanning and she was scanned pretty much every week whilst in NICU but it was just a total lack of communication between the consultants and ourselves as her parents that pissed me off. In fact that was one thing I still don't understand about the set up of the nicu and scbu our daughter was in. Unless we specifically requested meetings with her consultant or another dr it was always left up to the nurses to give us a quick run down of what had been happening and again sometimes they couldn't tell us things as it was the drs decision as to what would happen in regards to her treatment. I think that the parents as the childs only advocate in this time should have routine meetings on a weekly basis with the drs as a matter of course. Sorry for the rant, your reply just reminded me off how stupid the system was, our daughter was in hospital for 9 weeks, NICU for 6 and SCBU for 3 and in that time the consultant met with us just once after we requested to speak to her having not even met her for the 7 weeks our daughter had been in her care at that stage. It was also at this meeting we had been told she had a heart defect even though her heart scan had been done 4 weeks previous...grrr! XO

 

[Marleysgirl]

We saw Andrew's neonatal consultant quite often when he was in NICU, I'd say it was at least twice a week. If we ever wanted to see her for a specific reason/question, the nurses would pass on the request and she always made the effort to come and answer whatever it was. Maybe we just made more of a nuisance of ourselves, but I never felt as if she wasn't communicating ... Well, except for that one time when they tried to move him to another hospital Nobody communicated with us about that, but boy did we make our opinions known

 

[Sam182]

How did it go? x

 

[Jen1802]

We saw Andrew's neonatal consultant quite often when he was in NICU, I'd say it was at least twice a week. If we ever wanted to see her for a specific reason/question, the nurses would pass on the request and she always made the effort to come and answer whatever it was. Maybe we just made more of a nuisance of ourselves, but I never felt as if she wasn't communicating ... Well, except for that one time when they tried to move him to another hospital Nobody communicated with us about that, but boy did we make our opinions known

Haha that made me laugh Marleysgirl! Can't believe they attempted to move him without telling you! I think different hospitals must just have different procedures in place. There wasn't a routine meeting held on a weekly basis with the parents in the neonatal Juno was in, which is what I think they should be doing. We weren't allowed in when the ward rounds were being done to even hear what was happening with Juno but I could totally understand and respect the reasons behind this in regards to privacy of the other babies health issues. However it seemed a bit stupid at the same time as we always chatted to all the other parents who's babies were in the unit at the same time as ours and so we knew everything that was going with each others babies anyway. However I thought it was ridiculous that they didn't tell us about some of the issues she had until weeks down the line, the brain bleed, flares and heart defect should have been communicated to us at the time and wasn't. We were just always told oh she's doing really well and they are really pleased with her. Then on her discharge day when I queried why she had to have a more detailed scan done the nurse said the doctor would come down and speak to me prior to her discharge. Of course I thought the worst, that something suddenly had happened overnight but when the dr came down he said oh no, the brain bleed happened in the first week and the following cluster of flares had been detected over a period of three weeks, when I asked why we hadn't been informed at the time, he shrugged and said that they were not overly concerned about it right at that point as it was the side of the brain which controls fine motor skills and they wouldn't be able to tell how it had affected her until she's a bit older. I remember being really annoyed at the time but was too distracted to make a huge fuss as she was literally in her car seat and ready to come home. XO

 

[25weeker]

In the first Nicu we were in doctors round was at 2pm everyday and you were allowed to be in to ask questions but only when they were discussing your baby. You would stand outside the ward and they would call you in when they reached your baby.

I mostly got in first as holly was in incubator 1.

In the second one they didn't close the ward at Doctors rounds but each incubator had its own cupboards and drawers around it do it was a big area and not as easy for things to be overheard.

 

[bumpsmum]

Scan went well. Radiographer said there was 'nothing to be concerned about' bit vague she wasn't even able to tell me what the outcome of the scan would be that his results would go to the paed dr

They were a bit unorganised was told to strip him and took me a moment to question why he was there, they presumed he was getting his hips checked x

 

[Jen1802]

Ok that's what I mean about miscommunication! Ugh, hate the vagueness too. Well hopefully the consultant will meet with you and go through the results in greater detail but that's good that there doesn't appear to be anything to worry about! xo

25 weeker that is exactly the sort of protocol I would have liked in place for the neo natal unit my daughter was in. I'm not sure if it possibly came down to time constraints in relation to the doctors time or staffing issues but our daughter was in two neo natal units in two different hospitals and both had the same protocol - no parents during ward rounds, parents must make an appointment to speak to the consultant as there were no scheduled routine meetings and it was left to the nursing staff to give parents a run down of what had happened during ward rounds and what changes if any in relation to treatment. If we did have any questions they would make a note and let the doctors know at next ward rounds. In fact I remember being kicked out countless no of times even during the nursing staff handover again due to privacy and confidentiality. The only times they were flexible around this is if I were expressing for Juno or trying to get her to latch on. Its interesting to hear how different it is from hospital to hospital. I'm not sure if all hospitals in Northern Ireland operated this policy or just the two that we were in. xo

 

[Sam182]

Hahaha! Strip him for a head scan - they don't have a clue down there! They kept Winnie and I waiting almost an hour. Glad it went well x

 

[25weeker]

My first neonatal unit was in Bristol and my second was in Edinburgh and they were vastly different down to had Holly had her PDA in Edinburgh she wouldn't have been treated for it and if it proved too much of an issue she would have had it surgically closed in Glasgow. However I know other hospitals in Scotland offer medication to treat PDA's so chances are it's probably different in other hospitals.

What hospital's were you in? I am from Antrim but live in Edinburgh now

 

[Jen1802]

I did a tour of 3 hospitals in the space of a week. My booking in hospital was the Ulster but they couldn't deal with a baby born below 28 weeks so I was sent to Craigavon. Within a day though a space had become available in the Royal's NICU so I was sent there. Juno was born there and then when she was stable enough they transferred her down to the Ulster. I don't know what Craigavon's policy is as I was able to get transferred to the Royal before she was born. xo

 

[Foogirl]

I'm a parent rep on a clinical network for west Scotland NNICUs and they are starting the same in the east and north. One of the questions which has arisen is around parents at ward rounds. Part of the reason for keeping patients out is privacy for other babies, but also it is generally felt there is so much medical terminology and often discussions that parents are sometimes better off not hearing as they would confuse and possibly worry them needlessly. That said, I was asked what parents wanted and from those I've spoken to, generally the feeling is that they want to be part of it. We suggested all parents clear the room but when your baby is discussed, you would be invited in. And consultants should change the way they do the rounds to be more parent friendly. But the problem really only comes about because we are not really kept up to date with what is going on, unless there is a problem, so maybe a solution could be a weekly appointment with your consultant to discuss the issues? What do you all think?

25 weeker, just occurred to me, we are looking for parents to be on the east Scotland parent network. Would you be interested? I know you work, but to be honest, that isn't necessarily a problem?