Surgery info

We received a packet of information from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the hospital where John will have his operation next month. Here are the basics...

The operation will be at MUSC Children's Hospital in Charleston, SC on July 14th. Our surgeon's name is Dr. Hsia.

At 9am on July 13th we go to the hospital for 4 to 5 hours of outpatient presurgical workup: electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram, chest x-ray, and blood tests. We'll also meet with the cardiologist, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and the heart nurse. We'll discuss the procedure in detail and the heart nurse will tell us the time of the operation. We will be with John room during the workup.

John's grandparents from Texas will be with us on the 13th. They will help John play and relax while Juliet and I meet with the various doctors to discuss the surgery. The hospital has an atrium playroom with specialists who can provide "therapeutic play and developmental support" to reduce stress and anxiety before the operation. We'll also take along some of John's favorite books and video games so he has something that he is familiar with.

On July 14th, we'll go to the OR at 6:30am if our operation is scheduled early in the day. About 30 minutes before the surgery, they will give John some medicine that will make him sleepy. After he takes the medicine we can either hold him or he can be in his bed.

When John goes to the OR, Juliet and I will wait in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU (PCICU) waiting room. The heart nurse will keep us informed with frequent updates throughout the surgery. When the operation is over, the surgeon will talk with us.

After the operation, John will be admitted to the PCICU for up to 4 days. We can see John about an hour after he is admitted. The only hours we can't be with him are 7am-8:30am, 7pm-8:30pm, when doctors are doing rounds, when other patients are being admitted, or when procedures are being done in the PCICU. Believe me that we'll stay with him as much as we possibly can. Two family members can be in the PCICU at once and must be family members (in our case parents and grandparents).

When John transfers from the PCICU to the Children's Hospital, one of us can stay in his room overnight. We can only take a couple of toys and games due to limited space. He'll be in the Children's Hospital for up to 10 days.

When we leave the hospital John will have about 2 weeks of recovery. He can move around if he feels up to it, but he can't run, jump, or have any physical exertion. We'll have to be careful not to pick him up under his arms (his breastbone will be cut during the surgery). He'll need to be scooped up like an infant. John's Indiana grandmother will be with us for this recovery period. Thank God for grandparents!

During this period we have follow-ups with Pediatrician Feiste and Cardiologist Malpass.

Visitors to the Children's Hospital should check with the information desk on the first floor to get a visitor's badge. Visiting hours are 9am-9pm. The visitor information web page is www.musckids.com/visit/visitors.htm.

You can visit http://www.musckids.com/ for more information. The Children's Hospital web site for surgery is www.musckids.com/health_library/surgery.

If you have any questions, please comment on this post and we'll reply as soon as we can. Send good wishes toward South Carolina on the 14th!