Anyone else's kid had a chalazion?

[robinsmommy]

Great, so the "sty" on DD1's eye is NOT a sty. It's a chalazion, a blocked duct in an oil gland on the eyelid. And since it hasn't gone away in a few months and keeps getting inflamed, they need to remove it.....and removing something on a kid's eye means general anasthesia....at least it's outpatient. Big sigh. Hot compresses weren't going to cut it for this one, apparently.

Anybody BTDT? Or had a minor outpatient surgery for a child with a general instead of a local?

I'm a bit freaked out, to say the least.

[AnnieW625]

I had one as an adult about two years ago and thank goodness the hot compresses helped because it went right away. No other BTDT experience.

[maydaymommy]

I had a chalazion but it didn't have to be removed. Sorry for your dc.

Ds1 just had eye surgery 3 weeks ago, and it was major bilateral muscle surgery under general anesthesia. The good news I can share is that when he came out he had very few complaints about his eyes. He was bothered by the bandages on his foot, where they put the IV, and his lip that got cut on the breathing tube.

It's too bad it has to be done under general, but I'm sure your dc will do fine.

[boilermakermom]

is DC's opthamologist doing the surgery in a surgery center, or in the office? is this the first time your LO has had surgery/procedure done?

Did the Dr give you any indication on his experience with kids/how they handle the procedure and anthesia?

DN had to undergo general anthesia for some pre-op tests (looong story) and he did really good. My brother talked to him about what they were going to do, how it would feel, and he was ok with it.

[lil_acorn]

My son had one when he was 3. lots of nights of hot compresses (hot potato works the best and retains heat). Eventually it went away and we did not need further intervention.

Sorry to hear you need to do more. GL!

[Babymakes3]

I used to get sty's all the time when I was a kid but they happen less frequently now. Last week I noticed the corner of my lower lid was hurting and there was a big lump, it was draining at night but was hurting and totally uncomfortable. I told myself after 3 days that if it wasn't better I was going to the eye doctor, well day 3 ended me up at the doctor! He gave me an Rx because it was infected but told me to wait a few days before filling it to see if it would go down and told me to do hot compresses for the chalazion and cold for the huge, puffy bag I had under my eye. Luckily mine went away and I didn't even need the Rx, I hope I don't ever experience one of those again!
Apparently i have some disorder with the glands of my eye judging by the frequency with which I get these little fluid filled bumps on the rims of my eyes.

[jenmcadams]

As far as general anesthesia, my little guy had a urological procedure done at a surgery center just before Christmas that required general and he did great with it. I was super nervous, but felt better b/c the anesthesiologist that our urologist uses is a pediatric anesthesiologist and she made the whole situation so much less scary. I will say that they were very anal about not doing the surgery if the child was sick b/c of the risks of anesthesia and my DS developed a runny nose the week before surgery and we had to get clearance from our ped on Friday before surgery could take place on Monday. Overall, the anesthesia was not a big deal :)

As for the chalazion, I'm so sorry. I thought I had one this week...finally today a simple stye seems to have developed and it's responding well to warm compresses, so I'm hoping it resolves itself, but it was painful and I feel for your little guy

[twindad]

Yes, one of my girls had one when she was 4. I cannot remember the amount of time it took to get rid of it... I know we were close to the "deadline" imposed by the opthamologist. After many days/nights of warm compresses it went away.

Our other daughter had to have oral surgery when she was 4. She had a general and it was outpatient. She did very well and bounced back quickly after the surgery. Surgery was scheduled for 6:30 am and we were leaving the office by 8am. She was groggy/sleepy off and on until lunch time. The most traumatic part was having to hold her down when the general was given to her (shot in her thigh). She was screaming, but quickly fell asleep. The nurse told us she would most likely remember it, and she didn't seem to when we asked her about the whole procedure.

[robinsmommy]

is DC's opthamologist doing the surgery in a surgery center, or in the office? is this the first time your LO has had surgery/procedure done?

Did the Dr give you any indication on his experience with kids/how they handle the procedure and anthesia?

The surgery will happen in a local children's hospital, with a pediatric anesthesiologist, and the ophthalmologist is a pediatric one.

I've heard good things about the hospital, and the pediatric eye doc was recommended at our pediatrician's office, and I trust them.

I'm still waiting to hear how much it will run us, even with insurance. I did tell DH last year that I thought we should put more money into the flex acct......argh.

[Pepper]

DH had a chalazion a few years ago. The opthamologist lanced itin the office, but he didn't have general anesthesia. His was quite large, and he had a lot of pain for the rest of that day - I don't want to scare you, just letting you know that if it's big it your DC might be quite sore for the rest of the day.

My DS has had general anesthesia several times - he had 3 surgeries for cleft lip & palate repair, and 2 times he needed a quick sedations to have stiches removed. The short procedures were no big deal - the biggest problems were that he couldn't eat anything the morning that stiches were removed, and that the general anesthesia stopped him up for a few days. So don't be surprised if your DC doesn't poop for 2-3 days after their outpatient procedure :-)

[creativelightbulb]

no experience with DC's and chalazions but I've had two removed from my own eyes...

NOT FUN!! and I completely understand why a child would need general instead of the local I received...it was....uhhhh "weird" hearing them cut the tissue and awkward having my eye propped open

it did hurt afterward and I had to wear a patch...

I've decided my allergy medicine make me prone to getting and keeping blockages of the ducts...so much so I've consciously limited my use of allergy medicine and have noticed a dramatic decrease in occurance and severity of them...