No Surgery So Far

Today we went for our surgical consult regarding the boys' potential hernias. First off, I loved the surgeon. I knew the NICU nurses all loved him (in fact I constantly think of him as 'uncle Al' because that's what one of our nurses referred to him as) and in Jordan's dealings with him, both through the Peds ICU and his own upper-GI consults, he confirmed he was a very nice man. But truly, I didn't expect that for such a busy man he would chat and make jokes with Rio and be so incredibly approachable and kind.

So to the good news - no hernias! Woot woot! This means that surgery is not imminent! What a huge relief that is for us. The boys being anaesthetised and back on a ventilator was more than my mind could comprehend! Of course though, there's a but...



I'll start with Asher, who FOR ONCE, is the lesss problematic of the two! Asher has no inguinal hernia but his umbilical hernia is still loud and proud. It is most definitely shrinking, so the hope is that it will resolve itself. We will watch it until he is two, and if it is not gone by then it will be surgically repaired.

Nolan on the other hand may not have hernias, but has a hydrocele (water in the sac) on both sides. This can not only cause problems on its own, but can also leave a nice spot for a hernia to drop right into. So again, nothing to do about it right now but watch closely for the next year or so to make sure there is no strange swelling to indicate either the hydroceles getting worse, or the addition of one or both-sided hernias.

The really nice thing is that if we see issues with the boys for any of their hernias or hydroceles we can call his office directly without waiting for another referral from the pediatrician. Additionally, even though we weren't referred to talk about the boys' reflux, at his instigation we did have a quick chat about surgical options. Since it seems to be improving fairly drastically, were pleased he wants to take a wait and see approach until the boys are at least 18 months old, giving them the chance to outgrow it.

All in all an excellent visit and we really could not have asked for it to go better. I have to admit that the highlight for me was that he was blown away by the boys' size and development since he last saw them (he consulted on Asher many times for many things during their NICU stay, way back to the less than 5 lb days). He told me my breast milk should be bottled and sold as 'Vancouver Island's Finest', so it's nice to have more confirmation of how strong and healthy the boys look.

See what I mean about approachable and kind? That uncle Al, what a guy!