After Revision

[Amnada]

Just when I think I have it figured out...

Nickolas just needed a shunt revision a couple of days ago, and we just got home from the hospital. They only needed to replace the proximal (head) part of the shunt.
Nick didn't show any of the classic symptoms that he needed a revision. All he had was some swelling around the shunt site that would come and go. They found that his shunt was out of position and his ventricles were slightly enlarged.

Now we are home, about 60 hours after surgery. Nick is still tired at times and cranky at times. When is it the anesthetic wearing off, and when is it a shunt failure?
His appetite is slowly coming back and he is getting tylenol around the clock.

I just thought I knew the symptoms to watch for, but now I'm all confused!
Oh and he had a UTI we are treating and I think he is teething! The trifecta!

[Ziggy]

Poor guy! If he's symptomatic, I'd call his surgeon ASAP. Micah had a failure before we even left the hospital after a revision in September. It's definitely possible. The anesthesia should be worn off completely within about 24-48 hours.

[ainemc]

Sorry to hear little Nickolas had to have a revision. Ive heard of shunt's blocking immediately after surgery too, but hope it's not the case for your little man :-) Keep us updated x

[Kari]

If you think he's getting worse, I would call ASAP. The most common time for a shunt to fail is shortly after replacement/revision. We had one fail in 7 days after placement as well.

[babybsmom]

That was the main thing happening when Brian's shunt malfunctioned...the neurosurgeon kept telling me "swelling is common"...after several days of debating, we got a CT scan and discovered, it was blocked. Only the last day before he was revised did he have a classic sympton he "slept" through the night. I've learned that our babies aren't going to be textbook...you know, the same in our profession...lol. I hope things get better for you guys and he recovers quickly. Take care.