Jo's Eyelid Cyst
You know how when someone is taking your medical history, they ask if you've ever had surgery? Well, I like being able to say, "Only oral surgery for my wisdom teeth."
Yes, having all four wisdom teeth yanked is the only surgery I have ever had. I have been fortunate.
Lo simply says, "No, never had surgery" when asked that question.
Well, our son will not be able to say what his mama does. He has a cyst on his right eyelid.
Our ped. thought it was a chalazion cyst, which is like a sty and is the result of an infection. They usually go away on their own, with some help from hot compresses. We expected the pediatric ophthalmologist to confirm this diagnosis and tell us we should just wait and watch it. No big deal.
Nope. The pediatric ophthalmologist diagnosed it as a dermoid cyst. Frankly, now that I've seen a photo of an orbital dermoid cyst online, I have no doubt about the diagnosis either. That is totally what he has.
The downside is... with a dermoid cyst, surgery is recommended. There is a chance that he could fall and it could rupture and ooze into the area around his eye. If that happened, the area around his eye would get very inflamed and it would be much more difficult to deal with and would require weekly steroid shots. Also, it will just continue to grow as he grows and it could become a problem.
If we do the surgery, it is in the hospital, but does not require an overnight stay. It involves general anesthesia with a breathing tube and all that. The ophthalmologist says it is easier to do while he is younger and the cyst is smaller.
The good news is that dermoid cysts are common and are almost always benign, which is a huge relief. It is composed of normal tissue that is growing abnormally, the result of something going a little wrong during embryonic development. According to the ophthalmologist, his cyst has its own blood supply and everything, which is kind of freaky... like it's its own little entity or something.
Jo was born with the cyst. It's just that it hasn't become noticeable until he grew and it grew. There is no known cause for it.
But I can't imagine my little baby having surgery. The ophthalmologist said we shouldn't wait too long, but said we should wait until after his first birthday. So, we will likely do the surgery in January. I am not sure if we should get a second opinion or not. We will see our regular ped. before the surgery, so we can get her take on it at least.
My poor little baby.
Yes, having all four wisdom teeth yanked is the only surgery I have ever had. I have been fortunate.
Lo simply says, "No, never had surgery" when asked that question.
Well, our son will not be able to say what his mama does. He has a cyst on his right eyelid.
Our ped. thought it was a chalazion cyst, which is like a sty and is the result of an infection. They usually go away on their own, with some help from hot compresses. We expected the pediatric ophthalmologist to confirm this diagnosis and tell us we should just wait and watch it. No big deal.
Nope. The pediatric ophthalmologist diagnosed it as a dermoid cyst. Frankly, now that I've seen a photo of an orbital dermoid cyst online, I have no doubt about the diagnosis either. That is totally what he has.
The downside is... with a dermoid cyst, surgery is recommended. There is a chance that he could fall and it could rupture and ooze into the area around his eye. If that happened, the area around his eye would get very inflamed and it would be much more difficult to deal with and would require weekly steroid shots. Also, it will just continue to grow as he grows and it could become a problem.
If we do the surgery, it is in the hospital, but does not require an overnight stay. It involves general anesthesia with a breathing tube and all that. The ophthalmologist says it is easier to do while he is younger and the cyst is smaller.
The good news is that dermoid cysts are common and are almost always benign, which is a huge relief. It is composed of normal tissue that is growing abnormally, the result of something going a little wrong during embryonic development. According to the ophthalmologist, his cyst has its own blood supply and everything, which is kind of freaky... like it's its own little entity or something.
Jo was born with the cyst. It's just that it hasn't become noticeable until he grew and it grew. There is no known cause for it.
But I can't imagine my little baby having surgery. The ophthalmologist said we shouldn't wait too long, but said we should wait until after his first birthday. So, we will likely do the surgery in January. I am not sure if we should get a second opinion or not. We will see our regular ped. before the surgery, so we can get her take on it at least.
My poor little baby.
posted by Co @ 2:31 PM
5 Comments:
At 12:24 AM,
art-sweet said…
P'ito had surgery (with anesthesia) earlier this year. I was a nervous wreck, and I think he recovered from it faster than I did!
At 10:12 AM,
calliope said…
ohgoodness. WHEN??
will be (already am) thinking of you guys.
At 1:49 PM,
jay said…
ah babe!! am thinking of you all too. he is such a beautiful boy!
At 9:58 PM,
meanmama said…
It will be okay, though I know first-hand how terrifying this sort of this can be. You may want to get the second opinion, or at least find an on-line message board or something. Our ped is good but not an expert on everything. Did she refer you to someone known to be really good? I do find that her referrals are usually good. E-mail or call if you want to talk further.
At 8:03 AM,
babypants said…
ohh that is a hard thought to think of your baby having surgery... it sounds like the right decision though. It might be one of those things that is harder on the moms then him.
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