LO is getting her birthmark removed - biopsy revealed as precancerous

[HappiestMom]

they should use emla cream to numb her hands..inside her elbows and even ankles for about 30 mins before they try to start IV to do anesthesia or even give her a bit of gas before they do any of that so that she doesnt cry, they cry more from being held than anything...B has been put down a billion times and the first few times were the worst as a mom but now that we numb her and she still squirms it makes me feel better because I know its just from having to be held..just like if you hold them to wipe their faces or whatnot... Im sure all will go well..its scary but when its over it will be over and she wont remember any of it definitely being so young....the anesthesia also helps block memories too so thats a plus....

 

[sequeena]

Yes the cream will help - however last time they allowed T to do crafts before his op so it got washed off and they didn't reapply it - nightmare.

 

[jd83]

Just read this thread, hoping all goes well with her upcoming surgery! That is definitely a worrying looking birthmark, I can't believe the 1st dermatologist wasn't concerned enough to take action! Any type of skin mark, mole, etc with that dark of a contrast to the normal skin tone is a risk, especially a growing mark, should be looked into. You absolutely did the right thing getting a 2nd opinion, and so glad she is getting it removed. I can't imagine the emotions you are going through preparing your baby for surgery, but just know that you are providing her the best possible outcome by being proactive about this before it becomes problematic. And knowing this will be a risk for her, you can be proactive with her all her life with proper skin care regimen, and taking her for dermatologist appts for screening if needed.

 

[steph.]

My lo was born with a cystic hygroma on her shoulder and was put under last week for treatment. It was scary but it was fine. Because of her age she was done first thing in the morning so the fasting wasn't bad. Wishing your lo the very best. Hopefully by the time they can remember this will all be well and truly behind them and there will only be our white hairs as testimony of what they went through. Xxx

 

[spunky84]

That's really interesting about the cream!

I get a little more anxious as the day draws nearer, but I think I'll be fine. Maybe not the day of lol but I also know that she is at one of the best hospitals she could be at & the head of plastic surgery will be performing the surgery. So I know she's in good hands.

I'm dreading it too because I know it'll be heartbreaking to see her cry (it is at anytime!), but I know it's the best thing for her and know it'd be devastating if we didn't do this and it turned into something worse. It makes me physically ill to even just think that that could have been (and could still possibly be) her future.

We got the packet for her surgery. Didn't really give too much information.

We won't know what time to be at the hospital or her surgery time until the evening before. A little inconvenient (since we have an hour and a half of travel to get there - so we'll just have to prepare as much beforehand just incase it's early), but it is what it is. (Depending on the time - more likely if it's later in the day rather than early morning.)

The good news about the fasting is that it's not like if it were me having to stop eating/drinking after midnight.

No solids 8 hours before.
No formula 6 hours before.
No breast milk 4 hours before.

I think I may give her some formula just before the formula cut off and then maybe top her off with some breast milk before the breast milk cut off (I'm going to call and double check with them that this is okay - I'm sure it is, but I'd hate to make an error that would cause the surgery to be rescheduled).

It's in about a week and a half. I'm hoping next week goes by quickly enough. I'm going to stay home with her the following day. MIL will watch her the next day and DH on Friday. We're keeping her home from daycare just in case. Not sure if her being home with one on one would be better for her (though maybe she'd surprise us and maybe would be better off at daycare after a day or two home?).


Also, the instructions say to have them in loose, comfortable clothing. I'm really not sure what to dress her in. I worry about pants on her leg - especially right after. At home we can put her in a sleep sac, but for the hour and a half car ride home, not so sure!

Does anyone have any suggestions on the clothes? I'm worried about the pants rubbing up against her leg.

 

[southernbound]

Hi! I know it's not the same but my baby had pretty invasive liver/intestinal surgery at 11 days old and several tests and things leading up to that that required fasting I know it's SO worrying but to ease your mind, some things we learned along the way:
Pediatric anesthesiologists are FANTASTIC
Babies bounce back SO fast, my son's incision was all the way through the muscle and 2 months later his scar is so light I think it'll be gone completely before hes 1.
They didn't mind us topping him off right before the cut off at all. After that we gave him a pacifier with a little sugar water on it when he got fussy, worked like a charm.
As far as clothing goes, they'll probably have a pad of some sort on the incision so her clothes won't rub it. Otherwise, perhaps some tights and a loose dress so nothing is rubbing the incision but it's covered?
Everything will be great I promise. It's terrifying any time a baby goes under but I promise people that go into pediatrics LOVE kids and will treat her like the princess she is.
You and your lovely little one are in my thoughts stay strong mama! It'll be over soon

 

[sequeena]

She will probably be first for surgery. My son had his first at 15 weeks old and we had to be there by 6:30am. He was first in surgery at around 9am. The second time he was 26 months and was second on the list. He went down at 10am and was back after 12pm.

 

[spunky84]

Well, her surgery was today. We had to be there by 7:45 and her surgery was scheduled for 9:15.

It's an hour and a half away. We considered driving to my mom's monday night to make it easier in the morning, but we were too exhausted to feel safe driving. It took us until 10pm just to get everything ready for morning (would have taken longer if we were going to leave Monday night).

The drive was awful. It was lightly snowing when we left, but half hour in, it was getting bad. An hour and a half trip (one way) took us almost 3 hours. We left at 5 am and checked in at 7:52. So the morning was stressful.

She took 5oz at 2:30am and then topped her off w/ 3oz around 4:30 - she finished 10 min before her cut off time. Thankfully she slept the whole time there. She didn't even fuss in the waiting room.

Actually, she didn't start to fuss until right before they took her back for the anesthesia. They said for that, they'd put on a mask to let her breathe in the stuff to get her to sleep. They put the IV in afterwards (left foot).

The procedure took about an hour. She spent only 40 minutes in recovery room. She was crying when we went back there, but it was just from hunger. She took a bottle right away, but then fell asleep. She took only 4oz (mainly since she had fallen asleep). She finished the last ounce right before we left.

Unfortunately though, they weren't able to remove all of the birthmark. They didn't want to risk not being able to close up or have the incision split open after the stitches are removed/dissolved. They got most of it though.

She'll go for a follow up in a couple of weeks and then in about a month she'll have her second surgery.

Since being home, she only had 1 bought of fussiness. Otherwise, she seems completely normal.

 

[HappiestMom]

glad everything went well! seems like the most stressful part ended up being the travel...always takes us forever to get ready as I feel like ive missed something lol..hope she recovers quickly and hope the second one goes just as well

 

[jd83]

So glad to hear that the surgery went well Splitting into 2 procedures sounds like a good thing to me, too. It's better to give the first area some healing time before going back for the rest, so that'll be good for her. Sounds like she did great with everything too!

I bet the drive in was AWFUL!!! That's all I heard on the radio on my way to work was about all the accidents from the snowy conditions. Glad my drive was only 20 minutes yesterday, I can't imagine being stuck on those roads for nearly 3 hours, already stressed about the surgery. I'm just glad to hear it all went so well

 

[drudai]

spunky, I know this thread is wicked old but it looks like you're still active on the site. x just wanted to see how lo recovered from it after all these years. I bet doesn't even have a mark!

 

[spunky84]

She recovered well! She does have a faint scar that has grown in length as she's grown, but it's pretty faint. I mean, you can still see it, but I don't think it's super noticeable. Half the time DH and I forget she even has a scar

Though I'm sure it's more noticeable to us since we know. I'm not really sure how noticeable it is to others. I do worry about the possibility of her getting made fun of for it or kids asking questions.

Recently she had told me she didn't like wearing shorts, so I did start to worry that maybe she was starting to become a little self conscious of it (though I'm not sure how aware of it she is, herself), but since she was really happy with the skirt I pulled out I'm guessing it's not.

Other than that, though, she's been doing well and there hasn't been any issues related to it at all nor has she had anything else crop up (I was worried about something new showing up). I still am quite anal about sunblock for her (granted I am regardless, but I have a special anxiety about sunblock with her).

 

[Bevziibubble]

That's great news that your little one has had a speedy recovery

 

[drudai]

Glad you were able to update. And doubly glad that the scar healed so well!