Gastroschisis Treatment
The Treatment and care of your Babies Gastroschisis will completely depend on the extent of the Gastroschisis. Where some protrusions of intestines or other organs may require minimal surgery, there are more extreme cases where there are several organs protruding through the stomach that may need to undergo several operations to treat the condition.
So what are the different levels of Gastroschisis treatment and how will they operate on my baby?
Gastroschisis in it`s simplest form, if you could ever describe it that way, would be, the intestines alone protruding through the stomach. If there is only a small amount exposed then this can be replaced and sutured in an operation that would last an hour or even less.
When there is more intestine exposed, it may take several attempts to replace. Exposure of the intestines to the air itself may cause a swelling, preventing them from being replaced at the first attempt, this is why your baby will have their Gastroschisis covered within a pouch until the swelling reduces enough to have them replaced.
Gastroschisis Care
The treatment and care of Gastroschisis babies in the first instance is the sole responsibility of your hospitals SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit), there will be a specialist nursing team will be right there at the birth of your baby, taking immediate care and stabilising your baby.
The next stage of care after operation is into the NICU (neonatal Intensive Care Unit), where you may already have had a guided tour, here is where you will experience what can only be described as complete dedication to your babies well being, this involved in my personal experience yet another dedicated nursing giving complete care at a ratio of 1 nurse to 1 baby 24 hours a day and this is the case no matter how many babies were in the NICU.
The Newcastle Royal Victoria Hospitals NICU department and their dedicated nursing team showed me a professionalism and understanding the likes of which i had never seen in my life and myself and my partner will be forever grateful for their time and attention.
Caring for your baby after the NICU next moves on to the recovery wards. This is your babies Gastroschisis needs time to heal and the bowels begin to function and you await the “Green poo” day! while your baby can not feed like other babies because of their bowel they will be given the vital nutrients via TPN, referred to sometimes as a “long line”, this line remains in place while the bowel heals and begins to function hence the “Green Poo day”, when that day comes it is time to start milk feeding.
Milk feeding at the very beginning started off for Tanisha with 5ml of milk every 4 hours steadily increasing every day, nursing staff at this early stage of feeding may well encourage mothers to use their own breast milk because of the natural nutients that gives, this is optional.
When the first Green Poo arrives it is the sign that doctors have been looking for, and believe me when i say they were looking for it because they take every one of your babies nappies away looking for it! urgh! Slowly but steadily the nappies will get to a stage where staff caring for your baby will be thinking about removing the long line, this will be the day when you get to hold your baby more than the usual four feet away from their cot and believe me it as an experience to look forward to because it won`t be long now before you get to bring your baby home.
