After Your Child's Surgery for Pyloric Stenosis

Incision care

• Keep your baby’s incision clean and dry. Don’t use lotion, powder, oil, or cream on it.

• You can give your baby sponge baths for  2 days after the surgery. After that, you can give your baby baths. Make sure to keep the incision out of the water.

• Don’t remove the white sticky strips on your baby’s incision. Let them fall off on their own. If surgical glue was used, it will peel off on its own in 5 to 10 days.

• Don’t lift your baby under the arms. This will stretch the stitches and may cause pain. Instead, lift your baby by supporting his or her buttocks and head.

Other home care

• If you breastfeed, you can breastfeed your baby as normal.

• If you use formula, don’t give your baby more than  3 ounces every  3 hours for the first  3 days. After  3 days, you can slowly increase the amount as directed by your healthcare provider.

• Don’t worry about limiting your baby’s activity. Most babies can go back to normal activity soon after surgery.

To treat pain:

• Talk with your child's healthcare provider about what signs to watch for to know if your baby is in pain.

• Talk with the provider before giving acetaminophen for pain if needed. Ask how much medicine to give your child and how often.

• Don’t give more than the maximum daily dose in any 24-hour period.

Follow-up care

Make a follow-up appointment as directed by your provider.

When to call the healthcare provider

Call your baby's healthcare provider right away if any of the following occur:

• Fever of  100.4°F ( 38°C) or higher, or as directed by your healthcare provider

• Redness, swelling, or smelly fluid at the incision site

• Pain that is not helped by medicine

• Signs of fluid loss (dehydration), such as fewer wet diapers, no tears when crying, or sunken soft spot (fontanel) on your baby’s head

• Vomiting more than  3 times in a row, or vomiting that lasts more than  48 hours after discharge

• Your baby's belly appears to be swelling