The Breuers: Eye Procedure

Lola has had a blocked tear duct in her right eye since she was born. Usually they clear up on their own by six months, but hers hadn't. We tried all the suggested remedies - massaging the eye area, putting breast milk in it, etc., but nothing worked. At Lola's nine-month appointment, our pediatrician recommended that we have a procedure to clear the blockage. She said if it doesn't clear up by six months, it usually won't, and doing the procedure can be harder as the child gets older (more traumatic since they realize what's going on). Plus Lola seemed to be rubbing her eye a lot, so I was worried it was bothering her. We decided to have the procedure done.

I took Lola to see the pediatric ophthalmologist in mid-May for a pre-op appointment. She confirmed that Lola had a blocked tear duct; otherwise, her eyes are great. Lola did very well at the appointment, and they even had to dilate her eyes. We scheduled the procedure for June 20, last Friday.

The main reason I was nervous about the procedure was that Lola had to be put under general anesthesia. I have never had surgery or anesthesia, and now my poor baby was going to be put under at just 10 months old. It scared me. But many friends reassured me that they had gone through it too and everything was fine.

The procedure was at 8 am, and we had to be at the hospital at 6:30 am. The hardest part of this was that Lola couldn't eat after 2 am. I woke her up at 1:30 am and nursed her to try to make it easier on her, but it didn't really work. Joseph had to hold Lola most of the morning and pretty much avoid her seeing me - when she saw me, she just wanted to eat. But for the most part, she was great. She played in the waiting room, and then she was entertained by all the people in the pre-op area.

When it was time for the procedure, Joseph went back with Lola to be with her while she was put under, and I got taken to the post-op area. Joseph joined me after about five minutes, and then Lola joined us about 10 minutes later. It was a really quick procedure. The doctor came in and told us that everything went well; she was able to clear the blockage. I knew that Lola was perfectly fine, but seeing her lie on the hospital bed asleep made me cry. She didn't look like she does while she's sleeping - her mouth was wide open and she just looked zonked out. Luckily she woke up about 15 minutes later, and I immediately nursed her. She was starving! After eating, she seemed pretty much back to her normal self. We went to the car and headed home.

Although it was a little stressful for me and Joseph, I'm really glad we did it. Lola's eye looks so much better. I didn't realize how much it leaked until I didn't have to wipe it constantly anymore. I hope that she feels a lot better too. She hasn't rubbed her eye at all since the procedure.

Here's hoping we don't have to do anything like that again for a very long time (or ever)!