Surgery

Ok, I hope this all makes sense. My mind is spinning, I've had a long day at Hershey with Maggie, but I know everyone wants the update.

We met with the GI Surgeon today. He agreed that Maggie is a good candidate for the GTube, since she has had the NG tube for such a long time.

Seemed like what should have been a brief discussion...

Until we started talking about our champion puker. The surgeon recommended that we repeat Maggie's upper GI series to see what's happening with the reflux when we feed her. If it is still severe (and we know it is by the amount of vomiting she continues with), he suggested we also do a Nissen Fundoplication along with the GTube. Essentially, a GTube can sometimes make vomiting worse. Especially since my little peanut has a propensity for that to begin with. The GTube weighs down the bottom of the stomach, and makes it more likely for food to come back up. Since we are so worried about Maggie, vomiting, and it's impact on her ability to eat and gain weight, an increase in vomiting would not be good. With the Nissen, they will wrap the top part of Maggie's stomach (the fundus) around the esophagus. As the stomach fills during a feeding, the wrapped portion will put pressure on the esophagus, and it will close, making it impossible for her to vomit. The surgery will grow with her; we will not have to reverse it as she gets older, and aside from not really being able to burp, it will likely help us in the barf department. The upper GI will also give some indication about how Maggie's stomach empties, and if it seems that she isn't emptying well, she may need surgery at the bottom of her stomach to help that along as well.

In addition to the GTube and Nissen, Maggie has another (higher) hernia. The surgeon suggested that we repair this during surgery because it is likely to only get bigger and eventually cause her pain. They will also repair her umbilical hernia during surgery.

She'll have at least 5 incisions, and that's if they are able to do it laproscopically. If they have to open up her belly, she'll have a much larger incision. She will need to be overnight in the hospital for at least 2-4 nights. Luckily, I will be able to stay with her the whole time.

I am trying not to panic. I know this is the best thing for her. But they want to put my 13 pound kid under general anesthesia and make some major changes to her GI anatomy.

I still can't believe we're getting a GTube. I always had the smallest hope that she wouldn't end up needing it.

Maggie's upper GI is scheduled for June 10, and we will meet with the surgeon immediately after to "discuss the results and get a plan together." I assume that means we'll book the surgery at that point.

~Sara