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Liz342
member
DS has to have an MRI
Liz342
member
Went to DS' 1 year appt. today and showed the pedi a small "hole" about DS's butt. We did not notice it until he was a few months old but never thought much of it. I showed her today and she said it's a Sacral Dimple and most likely it's just a dimple but he needs to have an MRI to rule out any spinal cord issues. (usually these are noticed at birth but no one noticed it when he was born- had we seen it then, he could have just had an ultrasound but now that he's older the bones are fused together or something like that, and he needs the MRI).
I asked if he needs to be sedated and she said it's not full sedation but he will be lightly sedated. Anyone ever go through the MRI process before with your LO? Can you tell me about it and how he/she did with the sedation? I'm pretty nervous about the MRI and even more nervous about the dimple but since DS has developed just fine, I'm pretty sure it's nothing.
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Re: DS has to have an MRI
DS2 has the same thing. Dr. noticed it when he was newborn though, so we just had to have an ultrasound. He is absolutely fine.
I've already learned in my kids' short lives that doctors will order tests that they don't really think are necessary just to cover themselves...they are so afraid of malpractice suits now. My perfectly healthy DS1 was in the NICU for 5 days for this exact reason.
When they had us get the ultrasound for DS2 I wasn't even worried at all...I had it done just for peace of mind (and b/c our insurance covered it). I'm sure your son is fine...especially since he's had no developmental problems.
Our Doctor said that he wanted DS's checked out b/c it was a small hole with a tuft of hair that could indicate spinal cord tethering (related to spina bifida, etc.)...but that the majority of the time (including DS), it means nothing.
Is there any way you can give me a basic overview of what they do?
Like sedation through an IV? How long does an MRI last? (Probably different for different ones I'm guessing though)
Yeah, I'd say something to be safe. I googled it and it seems to be somewhat common and it seems to me that if it was related to spinal problems, there would be symptoms of that by now.
We knew about it also and didn't say anything about it. I'd say we knew for at least 1 or 2 of DS' last pedi appointments and we didn't even think to say anything. At the same time, it's something that should be looked for at birth by the doctors (from what I read) so I don't feel too gulity to missing it when the doctors did too.
I totally agree. I have noticed that whenever I call the nurses line for a question they will often say to bring LO in just to be safe. They are totally covering their butts. It's sad but I guess they have to in this day and age!
DS has had 2 MRI's with sedation of his brain. They used propofol and versed. The propofol is the sleepy medication. It is given via IV. It has a very short half life so about 20 minutes after they stop the IV your LO will be fully awake.
The Versed is actually and anti anxiety medication which they give if your child moves too much. Again very short half life so it wears off very quickly. DS was more upset about not being able to eat ahead of time.
The sedation is a light sedation, just enough for them to sleep. They will still be breathing on their own and monitored the whole time. Our hospital lets me stay the entire time too. It usually takes a while because they have to set up for ever shot they take, so ours took about 45 min to an hour, but again it was his entire brain and cervical spine.
Afterwords he was a cranky mess, took about 3oz easily by bottle (he was 6 months old last time) and slept the entire way home. Other than that he was perfectly fine.
For older children they will put a numbing cream on before they give the IV to help lessen the pain of the poke.
DS#3 had two MRI's - one at four months and another at one year. I was super nervous about them but he did great.
We went to children's hospital because our doctor didn't want just any old body putting a tiny one under anesthesia. I got to walk in the room with him and hold him while they put the mask on his face. Once he was out (it literally took seconds) I laid him down on the MRI and the staff took over and I waited in their private pediatric waiting room.
The whole thing took about an hour and when he woke up he was groggy, and non-stop crying for about half an hour. They let me feed him a couple ounces of milk right then (since he hadn't had any food or liquids since the night before) then wanted me to wait before giving him any more in case he threw up. I was able to take him home about an hour after he finished the MRI.
He was sleepy for the rest of the afternoon and HUNGRY too but he did really well both times.
I hope all goes well for you guys!
My twins are 5! My baby is 3!
DS#2 - Allergic to Cashew, Pistachio, Kiwi
DS#3 - Allergic to Milk, Egg, Peanut, Tree Nuts and Sesame
DS had an MRI of his brain at 10 months old. He did have to fast, which was the hardest part, but we had an early morning appointment so even though he was cranky it wasn't horrible.
We worked at the hospital and knew the staff so they agreed to try chloral hydrate (oral sedation) first rather than propofol/versed (IV sedation). The chloral worked so he didn't need an IV - that was nice. He slept through the scan and woke up perfectly fine afterwards!
Good luck!
DS2 had one at just over 10mos old of his brain. He had been recently diagnosed with CP at the time. He was fully sedated (to make sure he stayed still) and I was not allowed to be in the room or any sort of viewing room during the actual procedure. I was able to be with him until they took him back and immediately upon his return. There was some fasting on his part beforehand which he took amazingly well. The MRI itself only took about 30min. I had a bottle with me so I could feed him as soon I was given the ok (he had to be awake for X amount of minutes before I could do so). He came out of the sedation just fine. I don't have any experience with the dimple though. You may want to cross post this on the special needs board just to get other's experiences of having their child(ren) go through a MRI.
You should also be able to call up the place doing the MRI and ask them whatever questions you have (how long or if fasting is needing, how soon prior to the MRI appt time you need to be there - we had to be there 2hr early, what to bring for a snack for when they get out of it, what type of sedation they'll use, etc.).