About this topic
Pyloric stenosis is the narrowing of the opening between the stomach and the small bowel. It happens in babies and causes them to throw up. The throw up seems to shoot out of your babys mouth. ‚
Pyloric stenosis is treated with surgery. The doctor who fixes it will widen the opening from the stomach to the small intestine. Pyloric stenosis should be fixed with surgery and will not happen again. ‚
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What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do to care for your child.
- Ask your doctor when it is safe to give your baby a bath.
- Do not use lotions, powders, and creams on the wound.
- Lift your baby by supporting the bottom and the head. Do not carry your baby with one arm on your side. This can put pressure on the cut and may cause pain.
- Do not put any bands or wraps around your babys belly after surgery. A band can make breathing hard for your baby. A baby breathes using the belly.
What follow-up care is needed?
- Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your childs progress. Be sure to keep these visits.
- If your baby has stitches or staples, they will need to be taken out. Your doctor will often want to do this in 1 to 2 weeks.
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Help with pain
- Prevent infection
Will physical activity be limited?
Your baby may be irritable after surgery because of pain. Try to find a position that will make your baby feel better. Your baby may want to be held more after surgery. This may make your baby feel safe. ‚
What changes to diet are needed?
- Give your baby small feedings more often. Babies may still throw up a bit after surgery but this is due to swelling around the stomach. This should get better after 4 to 5 days.
- Slowly start to give your baby larger amounts of food after the surgery.
- Ask your doctor if your baby needs to take vitamins.
What problems could happen?
- Poor nutrition
- Poor weight gain
- Bleeding from the place where the surgery was
- Infection
- Weakness in the wall of the belly. This is a hernia.
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Signs of infection. These include a fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher, change in the sound of your babys cry, crying too much, if your baby is not moving around much and just sleeps all the time.
- Signs of wound infection. These include swelling, redness, warmth around the wound; too much pain when touched; yellowish, greenish, or bloody discharge; foul smell coming from the cut site; cut site opens up.
- Signs of fluid loss. These include soft spot on a baby's head looks sunken, few or no tears when crying, dark-colored urine or only a small amount of urine for more than 6 to 8 hours, dry mouth, cracked lips, dry skin, sunken eyes, lack of energy, feeling very sleepy.
- Not able to calm your baby
- Not taking any milk or formula at all
- Throwing up like before the surgery
- Dark-colored, tarry stools, or blood in the stool
- Few stools or no stools more than 1 or 2 days
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you about your child. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my childs condition.
- I can tell you how to care for my child's cut site.
- I can tell you what I will do if my child has swelling, redness, or warmth around the wound.
- I can tell you what I will do if my child is not taking any milk or formula or is throwing up like before the surgery.
Where can I learn more?
The American Pediatric Surgical Association ‚
http://www.pediatricsurgerymd.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=List_Of_Conditions1&ContentID=1619&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm ‚
KidsHealth ‚
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pyloric_stenosis.html# ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚