Recovering from a laproscopic appendectomy

[Danestress]

DS 11 had an appendectomy late last night. We are home now and resting and he's fine.

 

I'm just wondering what your actual experiences have been with kids recovery. He's a competitive tennis player. We have heard very different estimates of how long he will need to be out of the game - everything from 1 to 4 weeks. I'm not sure if it's because some of the doctors and nurses don't really know how physically demanding tennis is, so they are thinking, "Oh, it's not a contact sport, a week is fine" or if some are just extremely cautious and therefore recommend waiting far longer than he will actually need to wait.

 

Do you think we will be back to school Monday? Based on your own experience, do you think he will be running in a week? More? How about really training again?

[LauraGB]

No experience, just :grouphug: to your ds and you.

[gingersmom]

I had mine out 32 years ago (I was 12) so I am assuming a lot has changed in that time. But I still would think that your son would be out of commission for at least 2 weeks. I would let him decide when he feels well enough to be up a and about.

 

Hope he is on the road to recovery.

[Angela in GA]

My son had his appendix removed two weeks ago on Monday, although his was an actual incision, versus being done lap. He went back to school on Tuesday. He did really well pain wise, but he was exhausted when he got home. I think he napped every day this week! He did lose about 15 pounds, even though he was thin to begin with. After all of the vomiting he did, he had a difficult time getting his appetite back. As for activities, he hasn't done much as of yet. He did kick a soccer ball around with one of his siblings this afternoon, but that's it. I know he said he felt really strange yesterday when he laid down...something about feeling like the incision area was really tight? I know he's also still sore to the touch. Sorry I'm probably not much help. lol. Our doctor told us no sports for 2 weeks, for 2 weeks after that, he can do activities at his own pace. I hope your son is feeling better!

[newbie]

Just the lap surgery alone is tough, b/c they fill your stomach w/gas or air. I forget.

 

So I would let him rest and not worry about sports til he feels great and is bothering you to get out of the house.

 

Fortunately , lap is better than incision.

[Beth in OH]

Dd had this surgery a couple of years ago (age 14) at the start of the soccer season. Surgeon said no soccer for 6 weeks, could start mild conditioning at 4. We thought, "It's a no big deal surgery, we hear about pro athletes going back sooner all the time. Why so long?" Dd is a competitive girl who really loves soccer.

 

What we discovered was that it actually took dd's body that long to recover. Yes, the incision was small (the one through which they removed the appendix), but it still cuts through the abdominal wall. It needs time to heal, and rushing the process is painful and risks hernia that would need to be repaired later. I had an emotionally distraught teen on my hands that fall--it was just plain depressing to lose an entire season due to an "easy" surgery.

 

Pro athletes probably weigh the cost vs. benefit--hernia repair later vs. livelihood now. Not us.

 

Beth

[Catherine]

He started back after about 4 weeks and seemed fine, with no ill effects. Our surgeon made no specific recommendations, but just told him to take the first practice when he felt like it, and take it very easy at first. This approach was fine for us.