14.5.11: Tooth extraction

At 6.15 am in the morning, we left the house for Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre for E's tooth extraction. We were told not to give him any milk, water or food at least 6 hours before the scheduled surgery, lest he vomits due to the anesthesia. If there is vomiting, then the extraction would have to be postponed. His last drink of milk was at 10 pm the night before. In the middle of the night, at 3.45 am, E awoke, asking for milk. I didn't give him and he couldn't understand why and it broke my heart to see him crying in hunger. I distracted him by giving him a new toy that I had bought - a Hot Wheels colour shifters car, which he had been craving. He played from 4 am until we left the house that morning. Thus, he didn't have enough sleep at all.

We had to be there by 7 am. We left S who was still sleeping at home, with our maid. There were several children there that morning, who were scheduled for surgery. We were told earlier on to go to the Accidents and Emergency Department at Gleneages for admission, as their usual entrances are not opened that early. I gave them the admission card that was issued to us and they promptly registered E.

 

At the waiting area of the Accidents and Emergency Dept.

After that, a man showed us the way to the children's ward. The operating theatre was just next door to the ward. E didn't know what was going to happen, as I only told him that we were on a field trip to the hospital.

Finger blood pressure monitor

The nurses tested his height, weight and blood pressure. They asked what time was his last meal and whether he had any allergies. We also met another 3+ year old boy who was also due for tooth extraction. He had fallen onto the ground and cracked his two front teeth and had to extract one. Another young boy around 8 years old had broken an arm. (It looks like such thing is common with these young and active children)

Then it was time to go to the operating theatre. The bed was wheeled off to the OT. E refused to sit on the bed, so we just walked there. I had to leave my shoes outside and change into their sandals provided. There were 3 beds waiting there at the entrance. One was E's bed. On the other 2 beds were 2 children lying down there. They were dressed in the blue surgical gown and wearing a blue surgical cap. The nurses and assistants and a mother there was wearing blue caps and blue gowns, which looked very strange in the eyes of a young boy. E suddenly got afraid and refused to go in, so we hanged around in the corridor outside.

Then the anesthetist came out to meet us at the corridor. There wasn't any consultation as E refused to go in and put up a struggle. The anesthetist took out his handphone to show E a car game, but E wasn't interested. Finally, the hospital assistant asked me to wear the surgical gown and cap. I carried the stuggling boy into the OT. My dentist assured me that such a reaction is common among young children. At the OT, I lay him down on a table and he was covered with a blanket and had to be forcefully held by 3 other people. The anesthetist put a transparent mask over his nose and after a few breaths (he was still crying), he felt into sleep. (How nice if only he could fall asleep easily like that every night.)  Then, I was ushered out by the hospital assistant.

He was in at 8 am and the extraction was just around 5 minutes. Before 10 minutes were up, they had wheeled him into the recovery room beside the children ward. I was called into the recovery room. There was a rolled up gauze in his mouth and he was lying there fast asleep. 10 minutes later, the nurse woke him up.

Then I brought him back to the children ward and he was to rest there until the doctor discharged him. He wasn't even groggy after the procedure. He was his normal happy self. I don't think that he even knew that he had a tooth missing. (Of course, we told him a few minutes later). He didn't want to drink milk at first, and after half and hour, he requested to drink milk. 

The dentist popped in once and asked whether he had a drink or ate anything or pass urine. By then, he had already drank a bottle of milk. The dentist said it would be better if he passed urine as well. I kept asking them when we could get discharge as E seemed fine but was told to wait until the doctor gave the green light. The anesthetist popped in once to see how he was and all he saw was a boy looking at a video. E passed  the time by playing with his new toy car and watching a video on the netbook. 

A happy boy once again

I don't understand why it took such a long time to prepare the bill for our discharge. The other boy who had his tooth extracted after E, had left, and we, who were scheduled first, were the last to leave. Our bill amounted to a hefty RM1008.70 just for an extraction that lasted a mere 5 minutes. The bulk of the bill was the hospital charges and the anesthesia medicine. The anesthetist consultation was RM90, and ironically, we didn't feel as though there was any consultation at all. Anyway, I was relieved that everything went well. It was only around 11 am that we finally left the hospital.    

After we discharged, on the way back, he started developing a fever. I called the dentist and was told that it was a normal reaction. A nurse at the hospital rang me up and told me to give him paracetamol. I tried, but E refused. Fortunately the fever subsided after his nap and he was fine after that. He even went to a relative's birthday gathering that evening. Plucky boy!

Playing with their new hot wheels colour shifters