lobectomy or other lung surgery in babies?

Question

My son was born at 35 weeks and is now 3 weeks old. When he was born he had difficulties breathing and had to have a ventilator then CPAP and finally room air. While be was on the CPAP he developed a pnemothorax and and also required a dose of surfactant. He's breathing better now but still pulling alittle hard so they did several chest xrays to check his lungs and then a CT scan to get a better look. He's been diagnosed with congenital lobar emphysema and they have decided that he will require surgery sometime in the first year(likely the first 3-6 months) to remove the upper affected lobe. They have mentioned if his stats look worse they will do the surgery immdiately.He is also having trouble eating his whole feed from the bottle so has a feeding tube through his nose. They have mentioned doing a surgery to install a G tube but arent positive about it at the time. Has anyone had experience with lung surgeries? I haven't been albe to talk to the surgeon just my sons doctor so I have no idea what to really expect with the procedure or recovery. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

TweetyBird · Answer

I've always believed life can throw you some curves.  My son was delivered at 31 weeks and he had sufficient surfactant, didn't need intubation.

Poor little puddin'.  He has trouble feeding because we can't swallow and breathe at the same time and when given the choice, breathing will win out.  The NGT (nasogastric tube) is a way around this.  He doesn't have to make a choice between feeding (thriving) and breathing (living), he can do both simultaneously.  His feeding issue may be a long-term concern and NG tubes aren't really meant to be permanent or long-term even though some are kept intact for quite some time.  A G-tube, or more specifically, a Button G-tube such as the Bard Button tube, would be a better all-round solution.  So, it's being considered.  When your puddin' is deemed stable respiratory-wise, the Button can be discontinued.  And I imagine he'll keep it for a while even when oral feeding as a safety net until it's certain that it's no longer needed.  There are all kinds of feeding tubes  --  NGTs, G-tubes, Buttons, J-tubes and so on  --  and when discontinued, they heal up pretty fast.  Of course, an NG tube doesn't require any healing.   Take a lot of photos of everything to show him when he's older.

Courtney, I'm so sorry but I just now realized the time.  I'm off today and have to make the most of my free time.  I'm giving you link to learn more about infant lobectomies:  https://www.google.com/#q=lobectomy+in+infants+patient+information

He'll come through it like a star!

annie42 · Answer

Keep strong! It sounds like your son is in the best of hands. He is clearly a little fighter. I hope he thrives.

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lobectomy or other lung surgery in babies?

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