Jack has had a clogged tear duct since he was born. His pediatrician told us it is common for babies to have these and typically they grow out of them/work themselves out around 6 to 9 months. Jack's seemed to keep getting worse. A couple of times a week his eye would be matted shut when he woke up and the skin around his right eye would be irritated, red and seemed to bother him. We went to Children's Hospital after Christmas to meet with a pediatric opthamologist- Dr. Gregg Lueder. He immediately recommeded Jack to have a tear duct probing. He said that due to the irritation of the skin around his eye, he didn't think waiting was going to help and this was most likely not going to resolve on its own. He scheduled him for Friday January 20th. It was an outpatient surgery, but under general anesthesia so that Jack wouldn't feel anything and it would help minimize pain. We arrived at the hospital and Jack was happy as can be, despite not having eaten in 6 hours. He loved exploring the new place, seeing the new faces of doctors and nurses, and did great! My fear of the anesthesia risks ended up being for no reason as both the anesthesiologist and surgeon were excellent and Jack did great. His eye already looked great within a day!
playing in the crib at Children's before surgery
exploring the new place!
Jack and Courtney before surgery
his eye before surgery
in the recovery room
poor little guy had to have his first IV
heading home
playing a few hours later
