Pyloric Stenosis

We've had quite the journey the last few weeks. I never imagined that we would end up in the hospital for 3 days.

around and we spent Saturday evening with Gary's parents and ended the night with some projectile About two weeks ago Owen started getting really fussy at night, 7 pm would hit and we would all be on pins and needles waiting for the crying to begin. Nothing would console him, rocking, eating, walking around, binkies, nothing. Owen would cry for a few hours and then would be fine. The next morning would roll around and he would be fine. As the week went on the fussiness would start earlier and earlier in the afternoon. At this point Gary and I were losing our minds at night and we weren't very pleasant to be around. I made an appointment with the pediatrician and brought Owen in. My fear was that she would say it was colic and there was nothing I would be able to do. I couldn't imagine going a few more months with this every night. Our pediatrician listened to all Owen's symptoms and felt that he was beginning some acid reflux issues. We were prescribed Zantac and went home. The Zantac stopped the screaming at night but you could tell that Owen still wasn't feel well. He'd squiggle and squirm at night making grunting type noises. After a few days on Zantac I called the pediatrician back to see if there was another option. She prescribed Prevacid and we brought that home to try. After a few days on Prevacid there were no changes. Throughout this week Owen had also started spitting up. It started as a dribble here and there and quickly became projectile. Another call to the pediatrician and we were told to do smaller feedings more often. Father's Day weekend we spent Saturday with Gary's parents and ended the day with vomiting and fussing. Father's Day we had company and at one point Owen, Buster and myself were covered in spit up. The projectile vomiting was getting worse and happening with almost every bottle. Monday morning I planned to drop Aiden off at Grandma's, come home and nap when Owen napped. We dropped Aiden off, came home and got a bottle ready for Owen. We stopped halfway through for a burp and I ended up covered. I knew something more than reflux had to be going on at this point and called the nurse crying. As soon as I said the word projectile they scheduled us for an appointment. We met with Dr. O'Conner that afternoon and she brought up Pyloric Stenosis. She explained what it was and wanted us to get Owen in for an ultra sound to see what was going on. Tuesday we had an appointment for an ultra sound at the hospital, the ultra sound took a few minutes and the tech left and said she would be back. At this point it was bottle time for Owen and he was getting upset. I kept asking if I could give him a bottle yet and was told no. The tech came back in to look at Owen's abdomen again. She couldn't tell us the results but made the comment that Pyloric Stenosis is fairly easy to see if a baby has it. After that comment we knew that Owen had it. A few minutes later another nurse came in and told us to head to the ER that they were waiting for us. The rest of the day was such a whirlwind. Three or four different doctors came in at different times to talk to us about what Pyloric Stenosis was but no one could really tell us what was going to happen in surgery or when that would happen. There was talk that surgery would be that day, that the surgeon would be in to talk to us. The nurse came in and told us she had some bad news, surgery was being scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and we were going to be admitted to the hospital. Some more bad news was that Owen wouldn't be able to eat until the surgery was over. We were moved upstairs to our room and settled in the best we could. Pediatricians and the surgeon came to talk to us and we finally were told what the procedure entailed. The next 24 hours were the worst and scariest. PapaMom and and Aunt Jessica came to sit with us for the remainder of the day and give us breaks. Listening to your 5 week old cry from hunger was the worst sound of my life. Mom tried a few times to get Owen settled down but ended up upset herself. Thank goodness for Aunt Jessica, other than myself she was the only one that could get Owen to stop crying. I'm sure her arms are still sore from two days of holding and swaying. Wednesday morning we were nervous and anticipating our 1:15 surgery time. That morning we were informed that surgery was being moved until 3 pm. I think I was too tired to cry at this point, at this point Owen would be going 31 hours without something to eat. A little after one we were told they were heading up to take Owen to surgery. They let me hold him as the wheeled us both down in a wheelchair. We met with the anesthesiologist and the surgeon again. Finally it was time and we all gave Owen a big ol kiss as the nurse carried him back. Handing him over to the nurse was so incredibly hard. Surgery lasted 45 minutes and went very well. That night we were finally able to feed him. He had to start with an ounce and be able to keep that down before we could give him anything more. We were told to expect to stay until Friday morning but Owen did so well we were able to go home Thursday afternoon. I'm happy to say that he is recovering well and eating like a champ again!

For those wondering what Pyloric Stenosis is I found this article about it online....

What Is Pyloric Stenosis?

Pyloric stenosis is a narrowing of the pylorus, the lower part of the stomach through which food and other stomach contents pass to enter the small intestine. When an infant has pyloric stenosis, the muscles in the pylorus have become enlarged to the point where food is prevented from emptying out of the stomach.

Also called infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis or gastric outlet obstruction, pyloric stenosis is fairly common - it affects about three out of 1,000 babies in the United States. Pyloric stenosis is about four times more likely to occur in firstborn male infants. It has also been shown to run in families - if a parent had pyloric stenosis, then an infant has up to a 20% risk of developing the condition. Pyloric stenosis occurs more commonly in Caucasian infants than in babies of other ethnic backgrounds, and affected infants are more likely to have blood type B or O.

Most infants who develop pyloric stenosis are usually between 2 weeks and 2 months of age - symptoms usually appear during or after the third week of life. It is one of the more common causes of intestinal obstruction during infancy that requires surgery.

What Causes Pyloric Stenosis?

It is believed that babies who develop the condition are not born with pyloric stenosis, but that the progressive thickening of the pylorus occurs after birth. An affected infant begins showing symptoms when the pylorus is so thickened that the stomach can no longer empty properly.

It is not known exactly what causes the thickening of the muscles of the pylorus - it may be a combination of several factors. Some researchers believe that maternal hormones could be a contributing cause. Others believe that the thickening of the muscle is the stomach's response to some type of allergic reaction in the body.

Treatment

A surgical procedure called pyloromyotomy, which involves cutting through the thickened muscles of the pylorus, is performed to relieve the obstruction from pyloric stenosis. The pylorus is examined through a very small incision, and the muscles that are overgrown and thickened are spread. Nothing is cut out - the stitches are under the skin and there are no stitches or clips to remove.

After surgery, most babies are able to return to normal feedings fairly quickly. The baby starts feeding again 3 to 4 hours after the surgery, and the baby can return to breast-feeding or the formula that he was on prior to the surgery. Because of swelling at the surgery site, the baby may still vomit small amounts for a day or so after surgery. As long as there are no complications, most babies who have undergone pyloromyotomy can return to a normal feeding schedule and be sent home within 48 hours of the surgery.

A HUGE HUGE thanks to PapaMom and Aunt Jessica for being there through this all with us. Also a HUGE thanks to Gary's parents for watching Aiden. He got to experience his first sleep over. I dropped him off Tuesday thinking I'd be back in a few hours to get him, not a few days! And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the prayers we received! The calls and e-mails were very encouraging to us also. I promise to return them all when life settles down!