My son is almost one and has had croup four times in six months. we saw an ENT last week and he suggested that we have a Bronchoscope done. He thinks he could either have a growth on his voice box, acid reflux that doesn’t have any symptoms or nothing at all. I want to find out what is causing it, if anything but the scheduler called me today and now I am all freaked out. There are all kinds of guidelines about eating prior to and we have to be at Children's an hour and a half before the procedure and they have to put him out to do it, and she kept calling it a surgery. Anyway now I am wondering if I am making the right decision by having it done. Has anyone else had their child scoped? How old were they and did everything go okay. Or has anyone else had any experience with reoccurring croup. Thanks in advance!!!
Get a second opinion. My son is a health 14 year old and he had croup now and then even after one. I have no idea about the scoping, it would make me nervous too.
Best of health,
S.
I do not have any experience with croup but as far as the procedure goes I do. Adults can be sedated in a less intimidating environment but the kids don't cooperate because they are too young. It is routine to do this time of procedure in a surgical setting for their age and as a mom myself I would rather it that way. All the best doctors are there and in greater numbers than if they were to do the procedure in a different/clinic environment. I myself would be curious to find out if there are any other causes to the croup. Does your doctor suspect any certain problem and Is it likely there is something else going on? And is what they suspect have something you can do about it. If the treatment dosn't change would it still help you to know what is causing it? You can always call to ask more questions to help decide with the ENT doc. Good luck. I know how hard and fustrating a reocurrent illness can be with your little one! I wish you the best.
Just scheduled my daughter's today. She had croup 8 times in a year and I just got tired of all the steroids. It was suggested I do it at age 4 when it first started happening. I put it off because I had so much on my plate 2 years ago, I just fiqured we would get to it later. (Can you believe I'm a nurse). I fiqured we already knew she had severe reflux found out as a baby; so let's just treat the reflux. Well guess what...... It has now developed into something more serious. She has severe sleep apnea which is probable to what ever I would have caught 2 years ago if I had done it. So, here is a (((HUG))) and I would suggest to do it and just be calm; it will be fine. A very routine procedure, they call it surgery because of it being done in the hospitals surgery center and the need for anesthesia. It really is safe and a quick procedure.
A friend of mine had this done on her child after reoccurring croup. He was put to sleep and yes it is a surgery - a same day surgery.
If your doctor is recommending it, I would do it. My friends son ended up having a cyst removed and thankfully if was non- cancerous.
Good luck to you and your son.
I dealt with croup with 4 out of 6 boys. Some of them kept getting it even up to age 6 or 7, even older for one. If this test had been offered to me, I would have done it. Three of mine got croup badly enough to hospitalize several times. If there is a possibility that there is something else going on, I would want to check it out.
My 12 yr old son also had recurrent croup (about 12 times in his life) and had a bronchoscopy. Any procedure has complications and they actually do a scope like one would have with an endoscopy to check for reflux issues but instead of going into the stomach they go into the lungs. Having repeated respiratory infections can cause scarring of the lungs and potentially worse problems. My son was about 4-5 yrs old when he had his bronchoscopy. He received a diagnosis of asthma and croup from it but it was done because they were afraid he had a foreign body in his lungs. You need to weigh the procedure on the basis of whether they can potentially help him from having recurrent episodes vs doing it just to find out why.
I have a son with repeat ocurrances of croup. Incidently we just had to bring him to the ER on Saturday very early AM this week! He started to get croup when he was about 16 months old. It started in Oct and he proabably had it once every 6 weeks after that until Spring. The next year he had it 2 times. We hadn't had any issues for almost a year it was last August when he needed a bunch of treatments. This last time it hit in 3 hours! he went to bed fine and 3 hours later he was coughing and hardly able to breathe. We have never been to an ENT our family doc has never seen the reason to send him to one. I have been told that some kids are very prone to croup and they will out grow it between 3-4 years old. My son is 3 so let's hope this is his last bout!
My son was a preemie, weighing only 2 lbs. 3 oz. at birth, and had to have a Bronchoscope done when he was 4 years old due to chronic bouts of Croup. He also had ear tubes put in at the same time, 2 for one! The docs major concern for my son was the potential for scar tissue to have developed due to his being intubated for almost 2 months after he was born. He went through the procedure just fine, he is 15 now, and they never found a cause for his Croup. Fortunately, my son outgrew it and hasn't had the Croup for 7 years. His doctor informed me that the Croup is basically a cold virus that attacks the throat, some people get it and it goes right to their chests/lungs, or their nose/sinuses. He also said that most children outgrow it, as their throats grow with them so the breathing becomes easier during colds.
I think that it is a good idea for you to know if their is anything causing the Croup, or not.
Good luck to you!
my son was scoped about 6 or so times by the age of three. he was born with "floppy airways" and had a trach. everything with scoping was fine and he recovered everytime just fine!!
My son had this procedure done at 4 yrs of age. I was able to be with him while he was "put under" via a gas through a mask. It was scary seeing all these nurses and Dr's swarm about my baby, but it was also quickly over with. I wasn't in the room during the procedure, but was with him while he continued to sleep and when he woke up. It was a comfort to know he didn't know I wasn't with him. The nurse said he may have a sore throat after, but he always said it didn't bother him when I asked. (I gave him popsicles anyway!) If you're able to remain calm & collected, it will "rub off" on him. No matter how scared you feel, don't let it show. Best of luck.
I just want to tell you from experience that Childrens is one of the best hospitals in this area. You can really trust that they will take good care of your child. I have a son(Nathan) that had Cancer, was in remission, and now we have more procedures to go through. We are at Childrens all the time. I've been to several hospitals in the area, and in New York, and guarantee that they will take good care of your little one. They are gentle and probably will be using general anesthesia to put your child to rest. There are restrictions to eating because of general anesthesia can make him sick if he has any food or drink in his system. Trust me when I say you want to know what is in his throat and they are the ones you can trust. I hope all goes well and feel free to respond if you have any furhter questions about the procedure. Make sure you ask lots of questions to help ease your mind on what is happening. You are your childs best advocate!
Well... I LOVE Children's Hospital. If you are seening Dr. Kershner there... he is top notch. If you are worried, get a second opinion. I don't have experience with reoccuring croup. But just to let you know... if you go through with the procedure, when they come out and wake from the procedure... they will probably FREAK out (kind of scared me when my son had tubes put in). If anything ask the doctor to explain better why the procedure is necessary and what the risks are. They have to put all kids out at this age to make sure they are still.
Hi.. My son had a bronchoscopy done when he was 6 months old. It is a fairly quick procedure, they will put him all the way under, go in and look and maybe take a "wash" (put some saline in and suck it back out) to check for aspiration of foods. I can't remember if they do biopsies or not. My son had a endoscopy of the stomach at the same time.
He will sound a little croupy after the bronch because of being intubated but it goes away with in a few days.
Good luck and I hope everything turns out okay.
A.
If you are really nervous about it I would speak to your doctor again. Ask him to explain again the pros and cons of doing this, then you can go from there. If you still aren't completely comfortable w/your doctors decision you can always get a 2nd opinion.
My youngest son has had croup several times. When he gets it it's always pretty bad and scary for us. Fortunately, it's only a couple times a year, and it't been a while since the last episode--knock on wood! If he was having it as frequently as your son I might want it checked into also!
After 39 years of only seeking MD advise, 2 years ago I started getting second opinions from a Homeopath. It has literally been a life saver (and MONEY saver) for everyone in my family. There are so many other SIMPLE options that MDs just don't learn in school. I would encourage you to get a second opinion from a qualified homeopath that specializes in pedicatrics.
