Operation / under general anesthetic

My son has exactly an op like this (put to sleep early afternoon, operated on for 3 hours and then spent one night in the hospital but he was 18 months old so I guess the whole thing was a bit easier because he understood less. He was given a breathing mask to sleep, and he didn’t want the mask but the whole thing lasted like 15 seconds. The sight of him being wheeled away into the theatre was honestly awful. But I was thinking exactly like you are, that it will help his future health massively. The children’s surgeons and nurses are absolute angels and I was so happy and trusting he was in good hands. Also I thought that for them it’s something they do several times a day every day. Stay strong, it will be over soon

Maxi had it done! Putting him under was the worse mainly cos at that point our operation time had been delayed by 4 hours and he was starving and grumpy he wouldn’t let anyone near him so it fell on me to restrain him and hold the mask on! Once that was done it was really easy, the operation was only about 40 mins (his tonsils and adenoids were the size of an adult males and he wasn’t quite 2 so took a bit longer) he woke up really fast so the nurses in recovery were giving him big cuddles when I arrived he was a bit sleepy and full of cuddles then was starving!! And other than his disgusting breath you wouldn’t know he’d had anything done

My little one had one just after his 3rd birthday. They gave us the option of a cannula or the mask, and we chose the mask as I thought the cannula would stress him out more. I was warned that the mask wasn’t going to be a breeze though. And it wasn’t, he really fought with the mask and I found that really hard to hold him down but I basically bear hugged him and talked in his ear whilst they put him under, and when the mask was actually on him, it was really fast. Then when his little body was limp they wheeled him off and I cried like a baby 😅 under for about an hour. They took him to a recovery ward to wake up. But when he woke up and I wasn’t there he was furious and was thrashing around and screaming for me 😔 but they quickly came to get me and then he was okay. Really groggy for a few hours but he’d had a spinal as well and so his body was obviously feeling very strange in addition to any discomfort! Lots of rest and cuddles and he was fine

But I couldn’t fault any of the nurses that cared for him or the surgeon, we felt really at ease (as much as you can do anyway) and they tried so hard to keep him calm and comfortable. True angels. And, when he was over the worst of it (which was like a day) I could already see the benefits of the surgery and felt totally reassured we’d done the right thing. He talks about it now, “I was brave at the hospital when they fixed me” 🥹

My daughter broke her arm over the summer and needed surgery as it was a bad break. The worst bit of non emergency surgery is they can't eat or drink but you aren't usually given a time and trying to keep a hungry/thirsty 3 year old at bay is hard. We were sent from our local hospital to alder hey children's hospital as they weren't confident doing anesthetic on children so young, so don't be scared to make sure it's a suitable Dr. They will give you the option.of cannula or mask, they said cannula is usually less stressful as they fight the mask but the cannula didn't work so they had to use the mask which wasn't nice to watch and definitely made me cry but she was asleep within a minute. Good luck xxx

Thank you so much for your reassurance ladies, it means a lot. I've never been through anything medical other than giving birth so going into this fully blind and of course that's my baby, it's sad! But I know it's for the best. Did you get to stay in overnight with them?

@Bex My little one was a day surgery and home after a few hours. But I was told if for any reason he needed to stay overnight, we’d be admitted and get to stay with him.

@Bex maxi did cos of his age he wasn’t yet 2! My friends little boy (4 in December) had his tonsils and adenoids out on Monday and was in for 6 hours after surgery then let home xx

@Bex I got to stay in both nights she was there. Only one parent was allowed but i don't think they like unattended children in hospital at that age so you'd be expected to stay xx

@Bex i ended up staying overnight but unplanned. We were waiting for a prescription and it didn’t arrive in time before the night. So we had to stay until morning because we couldn’t be discharged without that medication. We were on a ward with 6 beds I think, 3 of which were occupied. I didn’t have a bed, just slept on like a leather bench/settee. The nurse gave me a pillow and bedsheets but it was still super uncomfortable and I didn’t really sleep. My boy was fine though.

Aw yeah she's been booked in for the night, I mean I'd be staying regardless but thought I'd ask lol

@Bex I was told they like to keep little people in cos they don’t know how they will react to the painkillers/waking up! Maxi was given morphine for his first dose of painkillers and vomited every where so me and nurse discussed what would be an effective pain management solution for him! We also ended up with pessary cos he kept throwing up the oral meds!

@Bex also of your booked in for the night you will get a bed… it’s still absolutely crap but at least you get an actual bed!

@Laura I'd take being in a chair as long as it meant I'm by her side lol

Another question though, how long did it take them to get back to normal? Or going out and stuff? So her op is the 27th and we were supposed to be going out on a football stadium tour (I know sounds boring but she's actually obsessed😅) on the 1st Dec. Too soon?

@Bex if she’s having tonsils and adenoids out it’s advised 2 weeks away from crowds/preschool etc due to risk of infection! He was back to normal as soon as he ate, but staying on top of pain meds was essential, if they were late in the early days (first 3-4 days) he would get really upset and I could see he was in pain!